Another one of those Naruto fanfics
by mmm donut seeds
Summary: In a world where Hidden Mist Village contains the majority of the powerful kekki genkais and a pair of ninja travel around to gain an education from every nation, what happens when Naruto befriends them?
1. Chapter 1

"Who's that?" The new girl, Raito, was looking quite pointedly at a blond boy, Naruto. She had just gotten to Konoha, and was waiting for class to start. The boy next to her, Haku, had yet to say anything to anyone but Raito. This had made Ino curious, and she had come over to investigate the new kids.

"Oh, that's Naruto. You don't want to talk to him."

Raito, who like Ino was blond and wore her hair in a ponytail, turned back to Ino. "Why not?"

Haku looked over in curiousity as well. His gentle features displayed a certain amount of concern.

Ino, in response, moved over to whisper something in Raito's ear. Haku's ears still picked up the sound, and he looked over at Naruto. He didn't like what he was hearing.

"Your point?" Raito asked when Ino had finished.

"He's a complete loser, I wouldn't bother with him."

"Then it's a good thing I'm not you." Raito made to walk away, and Ino gripped the darker haired blonde's arm.

"I'm being serious, nobody likes Naruto. If you're friends with him, no one's going to want to talk to you."

The grey eyed girl shook her arm free. "If people are really going to act that way, then I probably wouldn't want to talk to them anyway."

"Then you can't be my friend!" Ino called, but neither of them turned around.

"That's fine!" Raito called back.

"Hey, that was pretty cool the way you stood up to Ino! Did you really mean it when you said that you would be my friend?"

Raito nodded. "Hey, you want to show us around later? We figured it would be more fun if someone who actually lived here gave us a tour instead of jut wandering around."

Naruto beamed. "Of course! Let's go!"

"Naruto Uzamaki! Where do you think you're going?" a teacher with a scar over his nose asked.

"Iruka sensei, I was just going to show them around the village."

"I didn't mean right now!" Raito protested.

"Maybe we could go after school instead?" Haku suggested.

"But classes are so boring!" Naruto protested.

"Naruto!"

Naruto ignored the reprimand and stuck his tongue out at the sensei before running off. The much older shinobi chased after him.

"You know, we could always arrange for someone else to show you around."

Another instuctor had heard the commotion and walked over silently. Neither of them showed surprise, though, which is what he had been going for. Often times, a sure fire way to gain the respect of young ninja was to prove without a doubt that you were an excellent ninja.

"No thanks, I'm sure Naruto is perfectly capable," Raito replied. She studied the other man's face, noting that he frowned at her choice. Even the instructors were biased.

"Sasuke is far more reliable, and less likely to forget about it altogether," he enticed.

At the mention of his name, Sasuke walked over. The last thing he wanted to do was lead a couple of new kids around the village, but he wasn't rude enough to refuse. He braced himself for a fangirlish reaction.

"It's kind of you to offer," Raito's tone suggested that she thought it was anything but, "but we've already asked Naruto." She didn't even bother looking at Sasuke, instead choosing to glare up at the instructor.

Sasuke felt vaguely insulted that she was picking Naruto over him. That certainly hadn't happened before. He was torn between insisting if only because he wouldn't allow dead last to be superior in any way, shape, or form, and accepting it. If he did the latter, he would have the afternoon to train, instead of leading two girls around.

"I'm sure that Sasuke would make a far better guide," he insisted, effectively making it unnecesary for Sasuke to say anything.

"Oh yes, because the fact that he'd rather do just about anything but show us around the village is far superior to Naruto's enthusiastic personality. Forgive me," Raito said with scathing sarcasm.

"Fine, but when he doesn't show up, don't complain." The teacher looked upset that he had lost the argument, and walked away. Sasuke left as well, having nothing to gain from standing there.

"Raito, that was a little mean," Haku commented.

"It wasn't possible for him to show any more favoritism more obviously."

Haku didn't have anything to say to that, because he felt that to an extent she was right. It was then that the bell rang, signalling them to go inside. Iruka, their sensei, decided that he would sit them next to Naruto, in hope that they would get him to actually focus and pay attention instead of the goofing off he instisted on. The blond walked in about ten minutes late, and beamed when he saw Raito and Haku were seated near him.

"Hey, maybe you guys can come to Ichiraku's with me after school! They have the best ramen."

"Alright," Haku agreed.

Naruto smiled, giving him a thumb's up. The rest of the lesson, there were no pranks or disruptions. After school, Naruto was one of the first out of the building, as usual. He waited impatiently for Haku and Raito, who walked at a more normal pace.

"Alright! It's time for the grand Naruto Uzamaki tour of Konoha! Over there," he pointed to the Hokage monument, "is the Hokage monument! Look closely, because one day my face is going to be up there!"

Naruto then led through Konoha, pointing out all of the "cool," "interesting," and "haunted" places as they passed by each. About two hours later, they passed by Ichiraku's. Naruto insisted that they stop and get some food.

"So, how do you guys like Konoha so far? Pretty cool, right?"

"I can see why you'd want to live here, it's beautiful."

"Konoha is the most beautiful of the hidden villages," the store owner said, coming back with hot bowls of ramen. "It's also one of the most successful. A lot of other villages tend to get run down or in debt."

Raito nodded. "I heard that Cloud is going through some tough times."

"Cloud? What kind of name is that?" Naruto asked between bites of ramen.

"Please eat with your mouth closed," Haku requested.

"Oh yeah, right. Sorry."

"Cloud is just north of here, they're one of the stronger villages. If I remember correctly, they rank just below here and Sand. Don't they teach you this stuff?"

"Yeah, but it's not really important so I don't pay attention."

"You should at least know the names of the other villages. When you go on missions, it's kind of important to know where you're going. And didn't you say that you wanted to be Hokage some day?"

Naruto made a face. "Yeah... but it's just so boring."

"I hate to break it to you, but a lot of the Kage's job is boring," Raito pointed out gingerly.

"Yeah, but they're the most respected person in the village! Everyone looks up to the Hokage!"

"Half of that's because he puts up with the boring stuff," Raito said under her breath, and then she changed the subject. "Forgive me for asking a stupid question, but what happens after you get out of the Academy?"

This wasn't the only village she and Haku had been to, nor was it the only Academy they had attended. In fact, it was the only one they hadn't graduated from yet. Haku and Raito were meant to become some of the strongest ninja by learning techniques from a whole bunch of different hidden villages, and while their loyalties would for the most part lie with Mist, where they were originally from, they would work for the other hidden villages as well. The main reason why this worked was because if this arrangment did wind up working out, the villages were hoping to use their innfluence over the ninja to their advantage.

"You become a ninja," Naruto answered, giving them looks. "And you say I don't know the important stuff!"

"Well yes, but are you trained individually, put into teams and trained, put on teams and just start doing missions..?"

"Oh. After you get out of the Academy, you get put on a team and you also get a sensei to help you train between missions. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Is the sensei random, or do you get to pick?"

"They're assigned, same as the teams. Don't they do that where you come from?" Naruto asked.

"Kind of, but there you you have to pretty much train yourself after you become a genin. I mean, you get an instructor, but that's more to make sure you don't screw up the mission. Their job isn't to train you."

"Where do you come from, anyway?"

"Mist village, it's kind of small, and Fire Country is the only country it connects to."

"What's it like?"

"It's an island, and it's cold most of the time. Especially during winter. And it's not like here, it's less inviting, and smaller. Still, it's home." Raito took a bite of ramen.

"Then why'd you leave?" Naruto asked.

"Because we wanted to see the rest of the world, too," Haku said. "This is the only village that we haven't been too, and it's also one of the prettiest. I like Tea Country too, the marshes were really interesting to see."

"Marshes?" Naruto asked.

"It's kind of like a swamp. There are these patches of dry ground sticking up over the water, and most of the houses are built on stilts to keep people from getting wet. To get from one place to another you have to walk on bridges or ride in a boat over the water, and it's really green. It doesn't snow a lot in Tea Country either, because it's further South," Haku explained. "And most of the people there are really friendly, and they have some awesome stories. We heard one about how a giant toad lives in the middle of the country. It was massive, as big as two houses put together! And it was so old and covered with plants that no one realized it was there, and everyone thought there was a ghost in the marsh because they would hear this really loud croaking..."

Naruto paid rapt attention as Haku told the story about the giant toad, and then went on to talk about the snake that he and Raito found in the water. Even Old Man Ichiraku and his daughter listened to the stories about how at night the people used fireflies trapped in jars as lights, and then they would release them at a certain time when people went to bed. According to Haku, they would settle on everything in the village, making it glow.

"That sounds so beautiful, I wish I could go there," Ichiraku's daughter said when he had finished.

"But I'm sure there are things in Konoha too," Haku said. "Like that monument, we've never seen anything like that before."

"That's the faces of the Hokages!" Naruto proclaimed. "One day, my face is going to be up there! Believe it!"

"Maybe some day," Raito said. She got off the stool. "Thank you for the tour, it was a lot of fun, but I think Haku and I should be getting to our apartment now. We still have to unpack."

"I can help!" Naruto volunteered.

"Thanks for the offer, but we've got it," Haku said with a smile.

"Ok! I'll see you guys tomorrow, believe it!"

Naruto then walked off, and Raito and Haku headed towards their apartment building.

"I wonder why everyone seems to avoiding him," Haku said as they walked up the steps. "He seems perfectly friendly to me."

"I'm not sure, but I intend to ask the Hokage tomorrow. If there's a real reason for all of this, then I want to know what it is."

Ino had earlier said that none of the adults talked to Naruto and that was why they shouldn't talk to him. She had also said that Naruto was the worst student in their class, and that no one expected him to graduate. The way the adults on the street reacted though, made Raito curious. It semed that every one of them knew something that they didn't, and that Naruto had done something to them personally to warrant such hate. It didn't really make sense, Raito couldn't imagine on boy having that much influence on an entire village.

After they finished unpacking what things they had brought, they ate dinner and went to sleep. Anything else could be dealt with in the morning.

"You're not going to pass the exams, you know."

"Yes I can, and I will! Believe it!"

Raito and Haku paused on their way to the academy when they heard the conversation. That last voice sounded like Naruto.

"We should go see what's going on," Haku said.

Raito nodded and followed him to where Naruto was being harrassed by some other kid, who was in the academy but not their class.

"What's going on?" Raito demanded.

The kid smirked. "This idiot thinks he's going to pass the exams, can you believe it?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Raito retorted.

"Because he's, he's dead last! There's no way, he hasn't gotten a good score on any of our exams!"

"I will this time! I'm going to score higher than you or Sasuke or Sakura, even!"

"Yeah right! That's impossible! You can't even throw straight!"

"I will! I'll get really good, and then I'll be Hokage!"

"You're funny! No one's going to let you become Hokage. Never."

"Don't you have a class to get to?" Raito asked the boy.

"What do you care?"

"I'm not going to stand here and watch you harrass him. That was a polite way of saying 'get lost.'"

"Why should I? It's not like it's any of your concern."

"Raito, you don't have to do that, I can take care of it, believe it!"

"If you say so," she said. "But we're going to be late."

"Raito, shouldn't we stay and help him out?" Haku asked when they were some distance away.

"I'm sure he can handle it himself."

"Yeah, but..." Haku looked behind him. He was worried about their new friend.

"Alright, fine," Raito conceded, and both of them turned around. Naruto was still in a shouting match with the other kid. "Naruto, we're leaving. Let's go."

"Raito, I can handle..."

"Notice how I wasn't asking. Besides, this kid isn't worth the effort anyway. He's going to be an idiot no matter what anyone says."

"Say that again!"

"Again with the 'not worth the effort.' Naruto, are you coming or not?"

"Why you..!"

The kid rushed at her, fists ready to attack. Raito stuck her foot in front of him last minute and moved out of the way so he fell on the ground behind her. Apparently satsified with his defeat, Naruto rejoined Raito and Haku on their way to school.

"Naruto, you're late!" Iruka said when he stepped into the classroom. "And you two as well!"

"Sorry, sensei," Haku apologized with a low bow. After being nudged, Raito followed his example.

Iruka blinked, not expecting that. "Well... take your seats and don't do it again."

The rest of the class passed smoothly with no interuptions or pranks from Naruto. He occasionally whispered something to either Raito or Haku, but it was better than the pranks he was always pulling.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Man, this target is impossible to hit," Naruto complained. He was training, trying to practice throwing kunai.

"Here, try throwing it like this," Haku suggested, adjusting Naruto's grip. Raito was running laps around Konoha while he had come to practive throwing senbon when he ran into Naruto.

Naruto did, and it stuck in the tree. It didn't hit the target, but the aim was much better. "I hit it that time! Believe it!"

"It does help if you throw it properly." Haku pulled a senbon out of his pocket and aimed it for a second before throwing it at the target. It hit the bull's eye, but not the dead center he had been aiming at. It hit the edge instead. This was the exact reason he was here. In order to throw senbon most effectively, the aim had to be just right. He was getting better, but didn't have the prescision he wanted.

A few hours later, Naruto was hitting the bull's eye every time, and Haku was a little better with the senbon. Raito stopped by, a healthy pink tinging her cheeks.

"Hey," she greeted. "You're getting better, both of you," she remarked upon seeing the targets.

"Thanks," Haku replied.

"Haku showed me how to throw it better, believe it!"

"Were you going to join us?"

"Nah, I'm going to go spar with Lee. Thought maybe you two would like some peace and quiet, so we were going to go to the other training ground."

"Ok, just remember about our meeting," Haku requested.

"Meeting?" Naruto parroted.

"Yeah, we're supposed to talk to the Hokage," Raito said, sounding exasperated. "Anyway, have fun."

With that, she walked off to find Lee. After finding out that he had the same sort of impediment that she had, not being able to use chakra, she was curious as to how their skills compared. She was not expecting a man, jounin, to be there. He wore the vest, but the rest of his outfit was more... eccentric. Raito had never met anyone daring enough to wear a bright green jumpsuit with yellow leg warmers.

"Hi, I'm Raito," she said somewhat dubiously.

"So you must be Lee's most youthful companion!" he boomed. "I'm the handsome devil of the leaf, Might Guy!"

He struck a pose that made Raito internally sweatdrop. "Right..." She shook herself out of the shock. "Anyway, ready Lee?"

"Thank you, Raito, for coming here to spar with me. Most people won't fight me!" His eyes shone with passion, leading Raito to believe that for some reason people avoided training with Lee.

"Weird," she replied. As far as she could tell, there was nothing wrong with Lee, and she had seen him fight before on the school training field. He was pretty good at taijutsu, better than most, and in Mist Village a lot of people would want to work with him and learn how to be that good.

"That does not mean I'm going to hold back though, so prepare yourself!"

Raito discovered very quickly that with her weights on, she was just a little bit better than Lee at taijutsu. Mostly it was owed to the fact that she had studied all over the place, and taijutsu was one of those things that villages didn't hide quite so much. Lee also seemed to realize this, because he took his weights off.

Raito did the same, because when she saw the impact they made on the earth she was pretty sure she was going to need to. This proved to be a wise descision. Lee wasn't faster than her, they were almost perfectly matched in that, but he was stronger. The only thing that saved Raito from being beaten terribly was her training with Haku, who was the fastest person she knew. Even that didn't really help, except to teach her how to predict the movements of her opponents. This ability allowed her to get Lee about as many times that he hit her.

Fifteen minutes in, and they were both panting from exertion. Raito knew she was going to have bruises, and that she was probably going to have to concede first. Lee had more stamina than she did, though it didn't look to be by much.

"I concede," she said after twenty minutes of fighting. She rested her hands on her knees and bent over, trying to catch her breath.

"It was... a good fight," Lee said. He was panting heavily as well, it had been a while since he had met someone with that amount of taijutsu skills.

"It was a very good fight!" the jounin, Guy, agreed. "It's fights like those that fan the fires of youth!"

"If it gets any more youthful... I think I'll collapse," Raito joked. She stood up straight and retrieved her weights. Might Guy laughed and slapped her on the beck a few times, nearly knocking her over.

"Perhaps next to time you'd like to take on the green beast of Konoha!"

"Maybe." Raito had no intention of taking on a jonin who specialized in taijutsu. No thanks, she didn't need to get her butt kicked quite that badly. "Hey, I've got to get going, but it was nice fighting you, Lee."

"I felt the same, Raito! We should do it again some time!"

"Yeah," she agreed, meaning it. Then she went to find her apartment, where she could shower.

"Hey Haku, do you know any cool jutsu?" Naruto asked. He was still practicing kunai, but that alone wasn't going to get him through the exam.

"Define 'cool'."

"You know, like really powerful jutsu."

"I have a kekki genkai. Is that what you're asking?"

"Show me!"

"It only really works if there's water around." He was working on a jutsu that allowed him to pull water from the air, but it was hard to master. Nontheless, he went through a series of hand seals before doing a one handed seal. The little water he had pulled from the air turned into ice senbon, which he directed into a tree.

"That was so cool! How did you do that?"

"I just pulled water out of the air, the rest was using my kekki genkai."

"Show me!"

Pulling water from the air, seemed not too difficult as long as you weren't trying to control how much, and Haku couldn't see the harm in teaching Naruto the series of seals. "Ok. Pay close attention."

He went through the signs again, this time much slower. Naruto watched him carefully, and then repeated the sequence. Water splashed in throughout half of Konoha and the air went suddenly very dry.

"I did it! Believe it!"

Haku brushed a piece of dripping hair from his eyes. "You just..."

When he had taught Naruto the jutsu, he hadn't expected the effects to be so enormous. He stared, wide eyed, as Naruto continued his victory dance.

"Naruto Uzamaki, the greatest ninja who ever lived! Believe it!"

"Naruto, you have to be careful," Haku said. "A lot of people in town probably just got soaked."

"Oh. Whoops. But I still did it! Teach me another one!"

"Limit it to this training ground first," Haku said. "A lot of the jutsu I know can be really destructive, and I don't want anyone getting hurt."

Naruto frowned, but complied. The second time, he able to keep it roughly around the training area, but a lot less water fell. His frown deepened.

"Why isn't it working?"

"There's not a whole lot of water left in the air to use," Haku explained. "You got a lot of it the first time. Give it an hour and it'll evaporate."

"But I don't want to wait..." Naruto complained. "Is there another jutsu you can teach me?"

Haku shook his head. "Most of the ones I know get pretty destructive if you can't control them right... Maybe I could teach you a little taijutsu instead?"

"But I don't want to learn taijutsu, I want to learn something really cool!"

"Ok," Haku replied. He grabbed another senbon and aimed it at the target.

"Hey, hey hey! Don't ignore me!"

"I'm not ignoring you. You said that you didn't want to learn more taijutsu, and I'm not qualified to teach you ninjutsu... I don't really think I should have taught you that." When Naruto had asked, Haku hadn't thought about the laws specific to Konoha. A lot of villages allowed students to train themselves, but he was pretty sure that Konoha restricted it to within the clans.

"Please?" Naruto begged. "I promise I won't pester you ever again!"

"You don't pester me, I like being around you. I just can't teach you ninjutus. I don't think there's any rules about hand to hand combat, though..." Naruto pouted, trying to win him over. Haku just smiled. "Sorry, I would if I could, but I can't."

Haku truly sounded apologetic, as much as was necessary, anyway. Point was, Haku didn't sound like he was trying to appease Naruto so he would stop asking. He was being sincere.

"Ok... then teach me some taijutsu!"

Naruto, had he no had the demon fox, would have gotten his butt kicked. Since he did, though, he didn't mind the repeated blows quite so much. He also scored a few hits on Haku, which made him proud of himself. They didn't feel like he had done any damage, but that wasn't the point, and Haku showed him how to do it better anyway. Naruto was ecstatic.

"Haku, you ready to go?"

"Sure. You want to do this again, Naruto?" he asked

"Believe it!"


	2. Chapter 2

Haku was, as usual, the first one up that morning between himself and Raito. Naruto had decided that he was going to get up before the two of them though, and was making breakfast. When Haku came downstairs he snatched the milk carton away from Naruto and threw it in the garbage.

"Hey! I was going to drink that!"

"It was expired. You would get sick, but by all means, you still have that glass left."

Naruto made a face and washed it down the sink. "Are you guys ready for the exams?" he asked cheerfully.

"I forgot. Those are today, aren't they?" Haku grabbed the toast from the toaster and spread some butter on it. "Damn, Raito and I are going to have to come up with something good."

"Why? Normally they just tell us what kind of jutsu we're doing."

"Raito can't use jutsu. For whatever reason, she can't use her chakra while awake."

"You mean she can do it in her sleep?"

"She only did it once, but she got up while I was fighting... I still feel bad for those guys. As it would turn out later, she was sleep fighting, completely unaware of what she was doing."

"Oh. She probably won't pass then."

"No, she will, provided she get down here today."

Despite the training Haku and Raito had been putting him through, Naruto was still nervous for the exams. He hadn't tried to use the clone jutsu since he had begun his training, and wasn't sure if what they had taught him would be of any use. He got up anyway, and did the hand seal.

The clone looked exactly like him, down to the smallest detail. There was complete and utter silence.

"Well? Did I pass?"

The clone looked at Iruka too.

"Yes, Naruto, you passed You did know that you only had to make an illusion, right?"

"YES! I did?"

Iruka sighed and shook his head. "Raito, it's your turn."

"Fight me."

"What? Raito, that's not the task..."

"I know I can't use jutsu, so let me prove that I can graduate. Fight me, hand to hand combat, weapons, whatever. I'll even let you use jutsu. Fight me."

"Ok, I guess, but you can't win," Iruka scratched the back of his neck. "I'll be nice, anything goes, but no help."

Haku face palmed. "Poor Iruka sensei..." he muttered.

The fight didn't last very long. It was a huge mistake on Iruka's part to say anything goes, and then not use whatever he had to his advantage. Raito hit the point on the side of his neck, and he fell over after she demonstrated some of her hand to hand combat expertise.

"Don't worry, he's not dead, just sleeping. He'll wake up in a few minutes."

Raito took her seat next to Haku. "You went overboard."

"It was fun, I haven't fought like that in a while."

"Show off."

"You've known me for how long?"

"True," Haku conceded.

"Raito! We should get ramen to celebrate!"

"Actually, I have an errand to run, but feel free to go, you two."

"Are you sure, Raito? It's ramen," Naruto enticed. Raito shook her head.

"No thanks."

"If you're sure then..." Naruto promptly dragged Haku away, in the direction of what he proclaimed to be the best ramen place in town. Raito started walking in the opposite direction, to the Hokage. If possible, she wanted Naruto to join her and Haku under Gato. He would make an excellent addition to their team, and it would give him a chance at greatness at the same time.

"No."

"As he is, the need to prove his worth is going to drive him to..."

"The answer is no, Naruto stays under my custody, here in Hidden Leaf Village. You are dismissed."

"At least let me tell him..."

"That's forbidden. You may have diplomatic immunity, but you've still a lot to learn. I can send you home at any time, and it's my understanding that if I do send you home, Gato will drop you from consideration."

"I'll find someone else then. He's far from my only option," Raito countered.

"You don't play around, do you?"

"Not a chance."

Raito walked out with a compromise in her favor. Of course, anything other than a flat out "no" was in her favor, but in this case she was satisfied somewhat. Naruto still wasn't allowed to join her team, but she had convinced the Hokage to let her tell him why he was a pariah. How she was going to work that to her advantage to do damage control, she still didn't know, but she would deal with that when the time came. The deal wasn't without her own sacrifice though, she was responsible for any damage he did, and for keeping him under control.

"Raito, I thought you would be celebrating with Haku and Naruto."

She berated herself for not noticing that he was standing there before. She was busy trying to figure out how she was going to tell Naruto why he was constantly ostracized. His weird behavior, talking to her first, didn't even register in her mind.

"Huh? Oh, I had other things to do. What are you doing here... Sasuke, right?" Perhaps she would somehow imply that he should really join herself and Haku... but she couldn't give away the real reason they were here quite yet...

"Um, I wanted to ask you a question," he replied, kind of nervously. Again, this went right over her head. "Are you even paying attention?"

"What? No, not really to be honest. I've kind of got some other things to think about... but I suppose you could have my attention for a few seconds."

"How generous of you," Sasuke said sarcastically. "If I help you, will you listen to me?"

"You can't help." _'I can't really afford to make enemies with the Hidden Leaf Village, so there's no way I can have Naruto leave. That part is simple, it's making it so he would join us if the situation ever arose that's the hard part... no, that's not possible either... well damn, there really is no win with this one...'_

"Don't underestimate me, what is it?" _'A lot of girls would kill to have me pay this much attention to them, and she's completely disregarding it. The one time it would actually be useful...'_

"I'm telling you, you can't help and you don't want to get involved. What is it that you wanted to ask me?"

"Just tell me what it is," Sasuke replied, dead set on getting her to... he wasn't even sure what he was trying to do. He had no reason to want to help her, and it would be easier if he just ignored it.

"There isn't a win for me with this one, and it's not important. Listen to me, I'm so selfish," she shook her head at herself. "This is the last time that I'm going to ask, what was it that you wanted to ask me?"

"How did you get Naruto to improve overnight? I don't get it."

Raito blinked owlishly. "Wow, I can't believe I didn't see that one coming. How sad, I must be losing my touch already... it wasn't overnight, these kinds of things take time. Let me think about it, ok? I might have to do some severe damage control for the next few days, and I don't want to promise anything if something comes up."

"Let me help with the damage control, then. If you still don't want to teach me, fine, I'll leave you alone."

Raito thought about it for a second. If he was really that hell bent on learning from her... "I'm telling Naruto that he has the nine tailed fox sealed inside of him. Are you sure you want to be there?"

"That's strictly..."

"I guess not then. I guess I'll..."

"Yes, I'll help."

Raito was slightly surprised. She hadn't expected him to still agree that readily. "No commentary then. I don't want him to flip out."

"Fine. When are you planning on telling him?"

"As soon as he gets back from eating ramen with Haku. Come on, let's go."

"Raito, where have you been? You missed... what is he doing here?"

"Chill, Naruto, I made him promise to be nice. Now I want you to make me a promise in return."

"I still don't know why Sasuke has to be here..."

Haku was already slightly nervous. Raito's body language said she was prepared for the worst. The only thing that she could think Naruto would react to so badly that she actually brought in back up would be... how did she manage that?

"Are you going to promise me or not?"

"Ok, fine, what is it?"

"You are not to flip out, got it?"

"Why would I..."

"The reason people don't like you is because the nine tailed fox is sealed in your body. Sasuke's here because I don't want you to lose control."

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not. I don't know why the hell they would do something like that to a kid, but it's the truth. The seal on your stomach proves it."

"She's telling the truth," Sasuke confirmed. He wasn't sure if Naruto was going to believe him or not, but it was the truth.

"You're lying to me. You pretended to be my friends just so you could play a prank on me. I'm not falling for it."

"That's a lie and you know it. We're your friends because both of us know what it's like to be ostracized from everyone you know. When I first met Ino, two days ago, that's what she was telling me. It's cruel and unfair, but that's the truth. Life is like that sometimes." She looked at Sasuke. "There should be four bowl's worth of icecream in the freezer."

"You and Haku don't know what it's like to be all alone, you have each other."

"Actually, I know a kind of jutsu that my village condemned, and when they found out, no one would talk to me," Haku answered. "Raito's been making it on her own since she was seven. We didn't meet until three years ago, when we were both ten. We didn't always have each other."

"But you two act so close, like you've known each other forever. It's creepy, really. I bet you know how to read each others' minds or something."

"We're a team. Circumstances have made it so we have to. It's not without effort though, the first time we did that exercise I ran Raito into a pole."

"So I led him into a pool."

"Across traffic."

"Around a construction zone. _That_ was funny."

"Was not. I thought you were going to get me killed."

Sasuke came back with three bowls of icecream. "I'm leaving, I think you guys can handle it."

"Nope, you are staying, _and_ you're having icecream. Sit."

"Raito, I appreciate the offer, but..."

"Who said I was asking? Now come sit down before I make you."

"No, I'm going... hey! Ow! This is not necessary!" Raito had swept Sasuke's feet out from under him, planted a foot on his back, and grabbed his wrists. If she pulled, it would hurt. Haku went to go get the duct tape.

"Apparently, it is. If you had just accepted the icecream like I told you, you wouldn't be in this position."

"Your phone is ringing, in order to get it, you're going to have to let me up."

"Naruto, who does it say it is?"

"Uh, Hidden Mist? Raito why..?"

"I don't know, I haven't answered it yet. If you leave, the answer is definitely no," she informed Sasuke before taking the phone. "Hello, this is Raito speaking. I see. No." Raito hung up the phone. A look of anger swept across her features as she talked. "Excuse me for a few minutes. When Haku gets back, please tell him that I'm calling Gato." Raito promptly left the room.

"You wouldn't have any idea what that's all about, would you?"

"Not a clue."

"Hey, where's Raito?"

"She wanted us to tell you that she's calling Gato."

"Oh, that's never good. Did she look upset?"

"Yeah... I thought she was going to break the phone. Who's Gato?"

"Long story that I probably don't have time to tell. We're probably going to have to leave immediately."

When Raito came back in, she was quivering with rage. Her entire demeanor had shifted into aggression. "Thank you for letting us stay with you, but we have to go now. I'm not sure when we'll be back, if we come back. As you can guess, the answer is no at the moment, Sasuke. Let's go, Haku."

The duo darted out the open window and into the cool night air. "I wonder what happened to make her so furious... I've never seen her so mad before."

"They were here for a total of three days, of course you haven't, idiot."

Naruto felt the emptiness of the house more than ever that night.

"Team 7 will be Naruto Uzamaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha..."

'_Yes! I get to be on the same team as Sasuke! True love will prevail! Wait a minute, aren't we missing some people? Where are the new kids?'_

"... and Choji. Later this afternoon you'll be introduced to your sensei..."

"Iruka sensei, what about Raito and Haku? You never put them on a team."

"Haku and Raito left last night, they won't be back for a while, believe it!"


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto was sick and tired of all these easy missions. He wanted something with excitement, adventure, and some fighting. He wanted to put all the training to use. So, when the Hokage told him he was going to go babysit a kid, he threw a tantrum.

To their surprise, it worked, and they got a D rank mission. Even Kakashi hadn't seen that one coming.

"You'll be escorting him into Land of the Waves, good luck."

With that, they started walking.

"What are you so excited about, Naruto?"

"Hah! We're going to show the Hokage that we're excellent ninja when we ace this mission so he'll start giving us harder missions from now on! Believe it!"

"Are you sure someone like that is capable of a mission like this?"

Naruto stopped his obnoxious cheering instantly. He spun around and pointed at the bridge builder. "I'll show you! I'll show you that I can become Hokage and then everyone will have to acknowledge me!"

"Even if you do become Hokage, I'll never acknowledge someone like you," the old man replied.

"When I'm Hokage, you won't have a choice, old man," Naruto said.

"Hmph, we'll see about that," the silver haired bridge builder replied.

On that note, the trip was quiet except for the birds. A puddle of water lay innocently on the ground, and Naruto hardly resisted jumping in it. A look from Sakura prevented him from doing so though, and he frowned while walking after that. A few yards later, two figures emerged from it. Without warning, two chains wrapped around Kakashi. They were pulled, and he was reduced to a blood stain on the ground. Sakura cried out.

"Number one," one of the gas masked figures said, and launched an attack at Naruto. Sasuke reacted quickly, and pinned the chains to a tree with a kunai. He jumped onto the gloves where the chains were attached and kicked both of them in the face at the same time. They released the chains, and refocused their attack on the bridge builder, but Sakura stood in the way. They were almost upon the two, when Sasuke appeared out of nowhere to defend her. There was no need though, as Kakashi grabbed the two in a head lock.

"Naruto, you can't allow yourself to freeze like that. Good work Sakura, Sasuke. I'm sorry I didn't help you earlier, I had to see who was the target."

Laying the spot where Kakashi's body was were a few logs. The masked man examined the claws on the edge of the gloves.

"Kakashi sensei..."

"Those claws were poisoned, you're going to need to cut open to the wounds to get the poison out, Naruto," Kakashi interrupted.

"WHAT!"

"Kakashi sensei, I don't think we should complete this mission, we're not ready for it," Sakura said. "None of us have ever been in a real fight before."

"If Naruto can't treat his wound, then we will need to get him treated too..." Kakashi said.

Naruto drew a kunai and stabbed his hand. "I'll show you that I can take care of myself and treat my own wounds," he said angrily. "I will complete this mission, I swear it on the pain in my left hand."  
A needle darted out and struck him in the neck. Naruto recoiled at the pain, and reached up to touch the sore spot. Kunai were sent in the direction the needle had come from, from both Kakashi and Sasuke. A few tense seconds passed in complete silence, but no one appeared to fight. Kakashi picked out a shard of glass.

"Somebody disagrees, this is the antidote to the poison they gave you. Interesting, apparently we have allies that don't want to show themselves. Someone doesn't want you dead. Let me see your hand."

Naruto gave Kakashi his hand, and his sensei wrapped it in white bandages, even though the wound was already mostly healed. While he was at it, he picked the shards of glass from Naruto's neck. On the way to the Land of the Waves, the bridge builder explained why people were after him, and he was almost done when there was a splash near the pier. Haku, who had been sitting by the side of the water, got up and waved at them, and that was the last thing any of them saw before the boat was tipped over and they were thrown into the icy cold water.

Sasuke was the first to emerge, followed by Naruto, and then Sakura.

"Where are Kakashi sensei and the bridge builder?" Sakura asked as soon as she surfaced. Sasuke dived into the water, closely followed by Naruto, then Sakura. The water was a large blur, but it looked like Kakashi was fighting a dark blur with a large sword. Swirling water prevented them from trying to help, and Kakashi from getting away, limiting the battleground. Because of this, they could see that Kakashi was getting thoroughly pummeled, despite his sharingan. The bridge builder was nowhere to be seen.

Then the water stilled, allowing them to get to Kakashi. The assailant darted towards the surface, and Sasuke gestured at Naruto to get Kakashi. Naruto nodded and dove after him while Sasuke pursued their attacker. Sakura helped Naruto get to dry land, where they could help him.

It took a little while, but eventually Kakashi came back to consciousness. He sat up and shook the water out of his hair, ignoring his multitude of injuries for the moment.

"Where's Sasuke, Naruto, and Zabuza?" where the first words out of his mouth.

"Is that his name?" Sakura asked. "They went after him."

Sasuke was taking a beating. Zabuza wasn't even using his sword, which lay across his back again but pounded Sasuke into the ground and held him there with his foot. He leaned onto Sasuke's ribs, making the smaller boy cough up blood. He gasped for air.

"You're just a little ninja, no, not even that. You're playing with the big dogs now, if I were you, I'd watch my back."

"You may have beaten Kakashi sensei, and Sasuke, but you're not going to beat me! Come on!"

Zabuza drew his sword, and lifted his foot from Sasuke. "If you insist."

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A multitude of Naruto's appeared, surrounding the older and more experienced ninja. They lept into the air and attacked with their kunai, all that the same time. Zabuza shook them off and destroyed them with his sword. Puffs of smoke exploded in the air as his clones were beaten. When they disappeared, there were two Zabuzas standing in the clearing mist.

"Let's play a game, shall we? Which one is the real Zabuza?" they asked in unison. "And which one is the fake?"

Two needles struck each one's throat, and one collapsed into water while the other just plain collapsed. Haku jumped down from the tree and pointed to the one that wasn't a puddle. "I'm guessing that one."

"Judging from your mask, you're a tracker ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist."

"A TRACKER NINJA?"

"When ninjas go rogue and turn against their villages, tracker ninjas are sent after them to assassinate them to prevent the rogue ninja from leaking any secrets. You really should study more, Naruto."

Kakashi felt Zabuza's pulse. "He's definitely dead."

Naruto looked at Sakura, and then back to Haku. He couldn't get past that this kid, who couldn't have been any older than they were, had taken down Zabuza. Even Kakashi hadn't been able to beat him, and this kid had killed him... were they really that weak?

"What are you!"

Haku recoiled a bit at the question, just enough so that he wouldn't lose balance. His hand raised defensively.

"Relax, Naruto. He's not our enemy." Kakashi stood up and put a hand in his pocket.

"That's not what I'm asking! Zabuza was so strong, and you just... killed him!" Naruto looked down at his own hands. "Are we really that weak..?"

Haku jumped down from the tree, and Naruto raised his hands defensively. Kakashi put his hand on Naruto's hair. "I understand your disbelief, but in this world there are children smaller than you, and stronger than me."

"We'll just have to push ourselves harder, right?" Sakura yelled with excitement.

"Humph."

Haku picked up Zabuza's body. "I must get rid of this corpse, it contains many secrets. Until we meet again..."

A small whirlwind surrounded them, and they disappeared.

"What did he mean, 'until we meet again'?"

"We need to find the bridge builder," Kakashi said. "Or have you forgotten your mission?"

They would have, if Kakashi hadn't collapsed upon trying to stand up.

Raito paced the inside of her cell, and pulled on her black and white striped sleeve. Haku should have been back by now to tell her how the meeting went. There was still a chance that a bail would be set, but it was unlikely. All the same, she would rather know. This place wasn't exactly a five star hotel, not that she had ever stayed in one before. All the same...

Being in jail definitely sucked.

"Sorry I'm late," Haku said when he was allowed into the room. He smiled. "Zabuza is here, along with our friends from Hidden Leaf Village."

Raito looked concerned. "What happened?"

"Someone was going to die, so I knocked Zabuza out. They think he's dead, and they didn't recognize me."

"Is he ok?"

"He should be fine, he can't move yet and I haven't been able to talk to him."

"You should soon, or else there might be trouble."

As soon as Kakashi woke up, he knew there was something wrong. It was the feeling that was coiled at the pit of his stomach, there was just something wrong with this picture.

"Sensei, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Horrible," Kakashi answered bluntly. "But I'll live. I'll have trouble moving for the next week though..."

"Then it's probably better if you don't try to move right now."

"Kakashi sensei! You're finally awake!" the boy wearing bright orange and blue said when he came in to check on his teacher.

"Kakashi sensei," Sakura began. "What was the masked boy?"

"A hunter ninja, who specializes in hunting down rogue ninja and getting rid of their remains, and judging by his mask, he was a member of the Black Ops. They're a special group of elite ninja. They study extensively in physiology, and know the human body inside and out. By the time they're done, there's nothing left of the body. They don't move it, either, to prevent... he lifted someone that was easily twice his weight, and that also goes against the norm. Not only that, but did you see what weapon he used?"

"Regular senbon," Sasuke replied.

"Exactly, they're hard to kill with, kunai would have been a better choice, and I have no doubt that he knew how to use them. Thus, Zabuza is still alive."

"What are you saying? You said so yourself that he was dead!"

"It wouldn't be hard for someone with that level of training to put someone in a state near death," Kakashi replied.

"So what do we do?"

"I can't move very much myself, but I suppose we'll have to train. If Zabuza is still alive he'll probably come after us, given his background."

"What background?" Sasuke asked.

"A few years ago there was a special test for ninja trying to graduate from the academy in the Hidden Mist Village. The students would be paired up, and when it came to graduation, they didn't graduate until one of them was dead. These were their classmates, the people they shared their hopes and dreams with, and in order to graduate one of them would have to die. One student made the system reform, he killed hundreds of students before the test, so they reformed the system," Kakashi explained. "That student was named Zabuza."

"Before the boat tipped, I could have sworn I saw Haku waving at us," Sakura said. "Is it possible that he's actually here?"

"Yeah, I saw him too," Naruto agreed.

"Who?"

"He was a ninja from the academy, he showed up with a girl named Raito for a few days and then left with her. They seemed really close..."

"You bet they were! Haku and Raito were best friends! They even had complete trust in each other!"

"How would you know, Naruto?"

"They were staying with him," Sasuke answered. "We were there when they left. It's possible that they're here, they did get a call from the Hidden Mist Village before they left, but Raito looked really upset about it. If we find them, maybe they would be willing to help us with Zabuza."

"You bet they would! Haku said that he would never abandon his friends! Believe it!"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask..." Kakashi mused. "Do any of you know where she would be?"

"..." That was information that they hadn't had time to ask for.

"Well, you better start looking then."

Haku closed the police station door behind him. It never failed to strike him as amusing that Raito was in a uniform like that, though he didn't show it for fear of her wrath. That, and it kind of hurt to see her so powerless. If something happened, the way they had her now, she would be powerless to do anything about it. He shook the thought away, nothing would happen. Not when he was the only member of their team currently able to do anything.

"Haku! Wow, I didn't really expect to find you here. This really is a concrete jungle, huh?"

It was true, the cooperate empire was filled with skyscrapers, metal, and concrete. A great statue of water, made of glass, rose in front of the building Haku had just left, the local jail. Sometimes it seemed that there wasn't a single surface in the city left unpolished and sparkling. Giant white pillars rose in front of the building to their side in the court house, with statues of water dragons on either side of the entrance. In the middle of the square stood a fountain, a pair of scales with water running through them. They sat on the edge of the fountain, where other people sat talking and children splashed inside of it.

"Why were you looking for me?"

A bird landed on Naruto and started looking for food in his hair. He plucked it out and held it in his hands. "Where's Raito? We should probably talk about this together, it concerns her too."

"Uh, well... if it's that important, follow me."

Raito was going to kill him. No, she was going to brutally murder him for this. Oh well.

"Why are we in a jail? RAITO?"

Raito didn't say anything for a long time, but the look in her eyes promised murder. And torture. And just about anything painful she could think of, and she was very creative. Good thing her hands were securely bound behind her back. "Hi, Naruto."

"Is that really Raito?" Naruto asked Haku.

"Yes, it's me. What are you doing here, Naruto?"

"Why are you in jail? I'm going to help you out of here, believe it!"

Raito shook her head. "Don't bother, I'll be out of here later this week anyway. Cut to the chase, what do you want?"

"Raito, what did you do?"

"This isn't about me. There isn't anything..."

"He could testify," Haku cut in. "We got into town a day early, which would be an alibi."

"I don't want to drag them into this," Raito argued.

"What's 'testify'?"

"You tell the court what you know," Haku answered. "It isn't hard or anything, you just tell the truth."

"Yeah, and make enemies with some powerful... you too, huh? Are we having some sort of party in here now?"

"We thought Naruto had somehow landed himself in jail already, and that we were going to have to bail him out," Sakura answered. "Well, I guess if you're in jail you can't help us. Come on, Naruto, let's go."

"How did I know that you would just abandon people you know just like that?" Haku said, making Sakura start to fume.

"Sakura doesn't know what's going on," defended Naruto. "Hey, I've got an idea! Why don't they... what was the word again?"

"Testify."

"Testify too! Three people have to be better than one, right?"

"Hmph, I don't want to testify for someone who did something bad enough to deserve a trial," Sakura said in a snobby voice. "We shouldn't associate ourselves with criminals, right Sasuke?"

"It's probably better that way anyway," Raito agreed. She smirked. "Wouldn't want to tarnish your perfect reputation."

"What is it that they're accusing you of anyway?" Sasuke asked.

"Two charges of kidnapping, and abandoning my village. Regardless of what happens, they're going to find me innocent."

"Raito! What did you do!"

"Nothing. I'm being set up because I made the wrong person mad. Mostly it's politics."

"Why would they charge you with something if they're just going to find you innocent?" Sakura asked. "That doesn't make sense."

"But you're just a kid! They can't do that!" Naruto protested.

"If I were only a kid, do you think that I'd be in this position? I gave up the rights to being a kid a long time ago, legally, I'm an adult."

"We both are. Now what was it that you wanted us to help you with?"

"A man named Zabuza killed the man we were supposed to escort here, a hunter ninja killed him, but Kakashi sensei thinks that he might not be dead. He's worried we might get attacked," Sakura explained. "We saw what you did to Iruka sensei, and we thought you might be able to help, but if you're in jail..."

"She may be, but I'm not. We'll do what we can."

"In return we'll testify for you," Sasuke said, it wasn't really an offer, more of an acknowledgment of something that was going to happen regardless of what they said. "You can't be sure that they're going to find you innocent."

Raito was about to protest, but Haku didn't give her the chance. "Sounds like a deal then." After all, someone had to prevent Raito's ridiculous logic from getting in the way. These kids were tougher than they looked, Haku could tell. They could handle it. How they were going to deal with Zabuza, he had no idea. The older man wasn't likely to listen to them, but at least he wouldn't kill them. The favors they were pulling for these young ninja...

The three ninja left the room, leaving the team of two alone.

"You need to relax, Raito, they can handle it."

"And if they can't? These aren't people they can just beat up to make them go away."

"Then they're not cut out to be ninja."

With those words, Raito was left on her own. There was no denying the truth to them, but she couldn't help but worry about them. It was a cruel world to be thrust into so suddenly.

"They're late, wonder where they are..."

"Kakashi sensei, I'm sorry we're late," Sakura said as soon as she got through the door.

"I take it you found them then?"

"Believe it! Raito's in jail, so she can't help, but Haku said that he would see what he could do!"

"I wouldn't be so sure, or did you not notice that Haku has two different headbands?" Sasuke said between bites of food. "Not only that, but given Raito's skills, don't you find it odd that she was in jail? It wouldn't be hard for her to do something and not to be caught. They're hiding something from us."

"If you don't trust them, why did you offer our help?"

"Are you sure he has two headbands?" Kakashi asked.

"Now that I think about it, he was wearing a Hidden Mist Village headband, and he also got a headband from our village at graduation," Sakura mused. "Did he graduate twice or something?"

"So what I've heard is true then. I'm sure they've graduated a few more times than that, if what you're saying is true. Raito and Haku are said to have the most complete knowledge of ninja training of this generation. Not much is known about them, but somehow they've managed to convince many nations to allow them to study at their academies, and they've yet to fail once on graduation exams. It's said that one of them isn't able to use any kind of jutsu, either. Having their help would be a great asset to us, but be careful. I'm sure that they're dangerous, so don't taking giving them favors lightly."

"Raito did say that she couldn't use jutsu..." Sakura said. "Do you really think it was them that came to our class?"

"No wonder Raito and Haku were so good at teaching me how to use the Shadow Clone Jutsu, I thought they were teaching me the wrong signs."

'_They taught Naruto? No wonder he did so well on the exams,'_ Sakura thought. _'I wonder why people as knowledgeable as that chose Naruto, Sasuke is a much better choice. He can beat Naruto at anything.'_

"All the same, we should be careful. Those two no doubt have a lot of secrets, and may have hidden motives. Don't trust them blindly."


	4. Chapter 4

"Zabuza."

"Haku, I wondered when you were going to show up. I would have won. There was no need to make it look like I was dead. Where's your side kick?"

"Raito is preoccupied at the moment. The reason I came is on behalf of the kids that were guarding the bridge builder you killed."

"What, they your little friends or something?"

"We would appreciate it if you didn't kill them, we need them alive. One of them has the nine tailed fox sealed inside of him, and we want him to train."

"You're getting soft, Haku. Trying to keep little kids alive."

"It's not like that, I couldn't care less whether they lived or died, if he wasn't so powerful. He could prove to be a valuable asset."

"Fine, I'll keep them alive and mostly in one piece. And Haku."

"Yeah?"

"Don't make me regret it."

Haku nodded.

"What lesson are you teaching us today, sensei?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"Today we'll work on controlling your chakra."

"Kakashi sensei, what does that have to do with anything? I already know how to use my chakra."

"It does seem rather pointless, and repetitive. All of us already know how to control our chakra." Naruto nodded in agreement with Sasuke, who had supported his point.

Out of nowhere, Haku smacked both of them over the the back of the head. "That's from Raito. If she were here, she would have done that herself, but she wasn't."

"Haku, nice of you to join us."

"Don't hit Sasuke!" Sakura yelled.

_'__There just isn't pleasing some people...'_ "I was curious," he told Kakashi, "do you mind if I watch?"

"Why not?"

Haku sat at the foot of a tree, and watched. It didn't escape his notice that they were looking at him differently now, or that Sakura was borderline glaring at him. He knew that she liked Sasuke, but hadn't expected it to be to this extent. She was that mad when all he had done was smacking the boy over the head? He internally shook his head. Things would only get worse from there. That was nothing, comparatively. If she tried to do that every time he got attacked, she would be too busy trying to keep him safe to be of any use, and would wind up just getting in the way. On top of that, if she focused only on Sasuke, if something were to happen to Naruto she wouldn't be able to do anything about it. It was borderline suicide to play favorites like that. The entire team had to be treated equally in terms of priority.

The main reason for his staying wasn't for the lesson, he already knew what Kakashi was doing, he had undergone the exact same training multiple times. No, it was to gauge their strengths and weaknesses. It seemed that he and Raito would be dealing with these four for quite some time now, and it was better to know what they were capable of than to be kept in the dark. Already Sakura had revealed a fatal weakness that could be used against her.

The first time Naruto tried to climb the tree, he failed of getting his feet off the ground virtually at all. Sakura got fairly high, more so than Haku expected, and Sasuke managed to get a fair amount, but less than Sakura.

_Come on, Naruto, I know we taught you better than this.'_

The second time, Naruto got his feet to stick, and didn't get as high as Sakura, but close. He fell back down to earth, then got back up and tried again.

"You're getting better," came a distinctly feminine voice.

"Raito? I thought you were..."

"They dropped all charges," she explained. "Apparently someone else came forth as guilty, and confessed. Of course, after that they disappeared, and now they're launching a man hunt, but somehow I don't think they'll be caught. In any case, it feels good to be out of those jail clothes."

"Of course they did," Haku said. "Because we totally didn't see this coming from the beginning," he said sarcastically.

"Hey, I thought they were at least going to go through with the trial, but apparently they figured out that tactic wasn't going to work." She shrugged. "At least I got out early."

"I knew they were going to let you out early all along! Believe it!"

"How?"

"There's no way that you could have kidnapped someone, and turned your back on your village! You would never do something like that!"

Haku and Raito looked at each other, and then started laughing. "That's... hilarious..."

"What?" Sakura asked from her perch on a branch. "Are you saying you would then?"

"No, never mind. Sorry about interrupting your training. Come on, Haku, we have our own to get to."

"Raito, are you sure you're up to that?"

"Yeah, it's been too long, and I don't want to lose the progress that we've made."

"If you're sure then... We'll see you guys later."

"Wonder what kind of training they have to do," Naruto voiced.

"You should concentrate less on them and more on your own training," Sakura scolded, even though she was curious as well.

An hour later, each of them were tired. Despite that, Sasuke and Naruto were still going at it, each trying to beat the other. Sakura was still well ahead of them, but since Kakashi had made the comment that she was more worthy of becoming Hokage and better than an Uchiha, they had been steadily been making more progress. Neither hide nor hair of Raito or Haku had been seen since they had left. Several hours later, that was still the case. Sakura and Kakashi went home, to get some dinner and some rest.

Sasuke and Naruto took a brief break for a few seconds. Sasuke was getting steadily more frustrated that Naruto was beginning to catch up again, despite his best efforts.

"Uh, Naruto," he said hesitantly. The blond looked at him curiously, Sasuke never started conversation.

"Yeah Sasuke?"

"Um... uh, what exactly did Raito and Haku tell you?"

"Tell me about what?"

If it were anyone other than Naruto, Sasuke would have said that they were playing dumb on purpose. "Getting... focused or whatever," Sasuke replied.

"Oh." There were a few seconds silence. "I'm not telling you."

They glared at each other, and then dashed up the tree.

Haku and Raito sat a few sat a few feet apart from each other. Both were in identical positions, legs crossed and hands rested on their knees, eyes closed. Blue chakra surrounded them, but didn't touch. Raito's face twitched angrily, and the chakra faltered for a second before once more growing steady. She sucked in a calming breath, but other than that it was completely silent. About half an hour of complete silence and stillness except breathing later, a tendril of chakra morphed from the mass surrounding Haku. In mirror image, the same thing happened to Raito, and they slowly crawled towards each other. They paused when they got within proximity of each other, and for agonizingly long minutes they stood in complete stillness. Then they started moving again, twining around each other without touching. When each were at the point where another movement forward would touch the space between their eyes, they paused again, for half a second, then the two chakras blended as one.  
Immediately the blue disappeared, and Raito cried out. Haku drew in a sharp breath, and the air was still with the exception of them panting.

"Again?"

"..." Raito wasn't sure if she could do it again, it took enormous amounts of energy to draw out her raw chakra like that. She sucked in breath raggedly and shook her head. She wasn't even capable of speaking.

"We've made a lot of progress, that's the closest we've ever gotten," Haku panted. He was able to tap into his chakra with much less difficulty, it was almost effortless, but keeping it up for hours while Raito built up hers was incredibly difficult, not to mention trying to combine the two... it was like getting electrocuted. Nothing could have prepared either of them for that kind of experience. Raito closed her eyes, but tears still dripped down. Accessing her chakra was like forcibly ripping out the inside of her chest, it caused physical pain while she was doing it, and still hadn't recovered from the aftershock yet. "Are you going to be ok?"

"I'll be fine... just give me a minute."

Haku knew there was nothing more he could do for Raito than just staying by her side and waiting for the pain to subside. He could tell that it was getting better, that it hurt less now, but that didn't stop his concern. Raito wasn't only his partner, but his best friend.

He supported the majority of her weight when she was finally able to move. There was no way she was going to be able to move on her own for a while, much less walk home. At least she wasn't hurting other than being tired anymore. He was pretty sure she was sleeping against his shoulder blade now. How that could be comfortable when he was walking, he had no idea. She must have completely worn herself out this time, they should have waited. He was carrying her on his back, leaving them vulnerable for attack. If she were anything less than dead tired she wouldn't be able to sleep, between the movement and her being paranoid. Not that being paranoid wasn't a bad thing all the time, it saved their skins quite a few times. All the same, he would be happier if she didn't insist upon working herself to the bone.

"Haku, what happened to Raito?" Naruto inquired when he saw the sleeping girl. Sasuke paused as well.

Haku adjusted her weight so it was more comfortable. "She pushed herself too hard, as usual." He chose not to add that he was drop dead tired as well, and barely functioning.

"What were you guys doing that tired Raito out that much?"

"We're working on a special kind of training, and it takes more out of her than it does me. We've got to get going though, it's pretty late. Good night."

Sasuke nodded. "I'll go too."

"Are you coming, Naruto?" Haku asked.

"No, I'm going to stay here until I get to the top of this tree, believe it!"

"Suit yourself."

Haku and Sasuke walked in silence for a while. Mostly this was because Haku was both mentally and physically, and wasn't up for conversation and Sasuke, as a rule, wasn't the first to speak. Despite this, eventually the darker haired boy was the first one to break the silence.

"Haku, are you sure you're fine?"

Haku had started stumbling around over the last ten minutes, and almost run into Sasuke.

"Huh? Yeah, um, let me sit down for a minute."

The feminine looking boy set Raito down, then leaned against the tree and closed his eyes for a few minutes.

"Do you want me to carry her for a while?" It was unlike Sasuke to offer to help, but then again, it was unlike Haku to stumble around in front of him when he was obviously exhausted. Not for the first time that evening, Sasuke wondered what they were doing that would make the two of them so tired.

"Are you sure?"

"You're about to fall over, I think I can handle it."

Sasuke picked up the sleeping girl, who was surprisingly heavy. Haku heaved himself to his feet. He felt really light now that he didn't have Raito on his back. He stretched. "Thank you."

"You're... not Haku," Raito mumbled sleepily.

"I'm right here, Raito, everything's fine."

"Who's carrying me?" she asked blearily.

"Sasuke. Sorry, I'm too tired to carry you myself."

"I blame what's his face. Who? I'm sorry, I forget people when I'm tired."

"He's a friend, go back to sleep."

For once, Raito listened, and closed her eyes. Within seconds she was asleep again. She buried her face in Sasuke's shirt. "I'm guessing she isn't usually this... cuddly."

"Never." Haku was was surprised she was acting like this, even unconscious, especially after what they had just been doing. "She must still be hurting then. The _only_ time she shows any sort of physical affection is when she's tired, in pain, and _really_ trusts the person. Even then..."

"I didn't notice any wounds."

"There aren't any. How to put this... it causes Raito physical pain to use her chakra, to any extent, while she's awake. Even then, it appears in its rawest form, which is exhausting. Channeling that, all of it, to be external and then pushing further control to shape it hurts her. She says it's like having the insides of her chest being ripped out. Take how tired you are after working using your chakra for the last what, four hours? multiply that by twenty, and that's how tired she is. That's not even counting her mental exhaustion. That I can't even begin to describe."

"Why would you put yourself through that?"

"Because we have to get stronger. Basically we're training ourselves to combine our collective chakra, which would give us a huge advantage in a fight. Even though she can't really use it, Raito has an extensive pool of chakra, and a knowledge of jutsus that surpasses even mine. To be able to use it... we'd be unstoppable."

"So that's what this is about, power," Sasuke said. He looked at the sleeping girl is his arms, she had the same goal he did.

"Hardly," Haku replied. "If that were the case, things would be a lot different right now." He smirked. "You probably wouldn't be on speaking terms with us right now, much less trusted enough that Raito would fall asleep in your arms."

"Then why?"

"That's not something we can share just yet. We have our reasons. Well, this is where we live."

Sasuke looked at the mediocre, at best, apartment building. Compared to the rest if the city, it was downright shabby. The doorman was asleep, the flowers were wilting, and dust gathered around the lobby. Haku led the way through a row of dark reddish brown door with identical gold knockers, and slipped the key into the door.

The inside of their apartment couldn't be any more different from the rest of the building. It was like stepping into an underwater room. The atmosphere was light and open, with few pieces of furniture, bits of art, and teal walls. Everything fit into the color scheme, and flowed together nicely. Pieces of sea glass strung together with wire made up the curtains, and the moon reflecting through the window gave the room spots of different color. The place was immaculately clean, almost as if no one even lived here. Even the air held a salty ocean tang. Haku flipped a switch and the place was illuminated by a chandelier made of glass to look like bubbles. Mirrors reflected their images all over the room.

"Where do you want me to put her?"

"Her room is back here."

Raito's room was just downright depressing. The walls were painted a light grey, the furniture black, with a few silver accents. Sasuke set her down on the bed, and Haku pulled her shoes off.

"Thank you for carrying her all the way here."

"You're welcome."

With that, Sasuke left their apartment.

"Sasuke, you're so slow that I beat you here and you left way before I did!"

"Raito and Haku needed my help, sorry if I've kept you waiting."

"Hmph, why would they ask for your help when they could have mine?" Naruto grumbled.

"Who said they asked?"

_'Sasuke is so kind, giving help to people in need...*sigh*'  
_

"Of course they would have to ask! You never help people just because they need it!"

"Naruto does have a point, offering assistance is unlike you," Kakashi said. "Unless, of course, you get something out of it in return."

"Haku was about to drop Raito and fall over from exhaustion himself, so I asked if he would rather I carry her."

_'WHAT! THAT PIG! I BET SHE WASN'T EVEN TIRED AT ALL! I BET SHE WAS FAKING THE ENTIRE TIME JUST TO GET SASUKE TO CARRY HER! I'LL KILL HER!'  
_

_'Haku must have been more tired than he looked then, if he was about to drop Raito.'_

"I guess they're not as strong as Kakashi sensei says they are then, if he can't even carry a girl as small as her."

"Raito's not light at all, despite her size. Besides, they had been training for four hours before they decided to call it quits."

"Naruto practiced longer than that," Sakura said in a condescending tone. "It's not that long."

"I couldn't care less if you believe me or not," Sasuke replied. "I'm tired, so I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_Raito really does look bad... maybe she was just that tired yesterday...'_ Sakura thought when she saw Raito and Haku in the forest. She only caught a glimpse of her for half a second, but it was enough to see the worn look on her face and the tired circles under the other girl's eyes.

"Oh come on, Raito, you're being slow again... that's no fun."

"And yet, you're still not winning." Raito's voice, despite her appearances, sounded full of life and energy.

"We both know I'm not really trying. Hey! you almost got me!"

"Wasn't that the point?"

"Gotta run fast, gotta run fast, gotta run faster, faster, faster faster faster..."

"Shut up."

"Why don't you make me?"

"You're such a brat, you know that Haku?"

"That hurts, Raito, really."

"Ok, ok, you win."

The sound of rustling leaves stopped abruptly. Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto looked for the duo, but didn't see them. Even the birds were silent, but they had been scared out of the area long ago by Haku and Raito training. All the same, it was eerie.

"Good morning. Do you want us to leave so you can train on your own?" Haku asked.

"Nah, you're fine!" Naruto answered, still searching the trees for them.

"Where are you?" Sakura asked.

"Right here," Raito answered. She was sitting on the crook of a tree, one leg on the branch one leg dangling off. Haku was crouched next to her. "Where's Kakashi?"

"He's always late," Naruto answered. "He probably won't be back for a while. What are you doing?"

"Brushing up on our fighting skills, but I lost, so now I have to do dishes this week." She stuck her tongue out at Haku. "Though I do wonder..."

"That would be rather interesting, wouldn't it? But do they have that much potential?"

"Only one way to find out."

"What are you two talking about? Unlike you two, we can't read your minds," Naruto said grumpily.

Raito's answering smile was just a touch creepy. "We wonder who would win if we were to fight. Haku and I against you, Sasuke, and Sakura. Three days from now, here. What do you say?"

"You're on! We're going to beat you, believe it!"

"Beat who?" Kakashi asked when he entered the spot chosen for their training.

"Oh, we'll see about that. Haku and I are full of surprises. Until then, sayonara," Raito said before darting off into the forest with Haku.

"Naruto, you idiot! There's no way we're going to be able to beat them! They've studied all over the place, and graduated from multiple academies! There's no way we can win!" Sakura did her best to look menacing, but Naruto only laughed in response.

"It's not a problem, Raito can't use jutsu, remember? They don't stand a chance against us!"

"Well, I guess we do outnumber them too..." Sakura admitted with defeat.

"Raito, are you sure it was such a good idea to challenge them to a fight? We're outnumbered two to three, along with going against an Uchihah and the nine tailed fox. Not to mention the fact that _Kakashi_ is their sensei. We don't stand a chance."

"Sure we do. Both of us have more battle experience, neither of them have tapped into their true power, and probably have already labeled me as less of a threat than you. Besides, we have more knowledge about fighting than the three of them put together."

"That would be reassuring, if I didn't already know that you're an optimist."

"Ah, but I'm a depressed, logical optimist so we're all good."

"Isn't that a contradiction?"

"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you."

"And you call me a brat," Haku said teasingly. "By the way, this does not get you out of dishes."

"...damn."

Sakura wasn't quite sure what to make of Raito. When the two had first met, Raito hadn't even shown any sign of noticing her. Sakura came to the conclusion that Raito labeled her as "Ino's friend" and left it at that, but then she went and made friends with _Naruto_. In some ways, it had made Sakura jealous, someone had noticed Naruto over her. Not only that, but after knowing his history, she chose to be his friend. _'So what did that say about me?'_ she asked herself. She didn't know the answer to that one, for once. Normally she would have brushed it off and disregarded it completely, but Raito and Haku had made themselves a part of their lives, at least for the time being. Enough that Sasuke would want to do them favors, anyway. Sakura would be lying if she said she wasn't completely and totally jealous, but Raito wasn't making anything of it. As far as she could tell, the girl didn't even _like_ Sasuke. That was crazy enough.

Was that even _possible_?

For whatever reason, it didn't even make Sakura feel better. She should have been happy that she didn't have any more competition, but Raito still managed to make her feel threatened. Maybe it was because she fit beside Haku so perfectly, and

Sakura couldn't get over the feeling that she was holding the team back more than Naruto was. Maybe it was because she knew that a two man team with Sasuke and Naruto would _work_, and Sakura would be useless and left behind in their dust.

Or maybe it was because Raito _didn't_ like Sasuke, and Sakura didn't trust that. But why _Naruto_?

Speaking of which, where was he?

"Sakura! I thought you would be asleep by now." Had they been wrong to shun him? No, that wasn't possible, he had the nine tailed fox sealed inside his body, and he was a trouble maker on top of it. She hadn't made a mistake there, but _where_? Had Raito been right when she said that they were blaming him for things that were out of his control?

Sakura shrugged. "I'm not tired yet."

"Oh. It is pretty, isn't it?"

"What?"

"The city. It's nothing like Konoha, but it's pretty in its own way don't you think?"

In that second, Sakura could see what exactly Raito saw in the blond. He had the biggest heart, and saw the best in _everything_. Then that second was gone, and Sakura saw the same kid she had grown up with. The silly kid who had no structure in his life and was a big nuisance, but somehow managed to get to the heart of the situation anyway, when she was left on the outside.

The kid, who despite his low grades and foolishness, still left her in the dust.

"Yeah."

The next morning, there was a sense of excitement in the air that was infectious. Even Sakura was looking forward to the upcoming fight. Breakfast was eaten in a hurry, and they were out the door quickly.

"We're going to beat them, believe it! Raito and Haku won't know what hit them!"

"Haku! I can't find my choker!"

"Raito, we're going to be _fighting_. I doubt you need a _choker_ of all things."

"But it's _lucky_."

"No such thing as luck."

"But there is such thing as having more confidence because you think you're lucky and therefore doing things you might not have done before that work _anyway_. Just like Captain Jacksparrow."

"That was a fictional character, of course he gets to disobey the laws of physics."

"If he can, then so can I, because I'm Raito and I say so, so there."

Haku plucked the choker from the end table, where it was left, and handed it to the girl. If something left her hand for more than... no, if it left her hand at all, it would be lost. "You're such a child."

Raito covered her mouth and laughed. "Really?"

"Shut up. We better get going, or we'll be late."

"Ok."

"Raito! Haku! We thought you had chickened out and weren't going to show!"

"You wish," Raito retorted. She put a hand over her mouth to cover her smirk. "We sound like a bad movie about gang wars. Hey Frankie, let's show these punks what's what," Raito said in a heavy accent that would have been Italian, had such a place existed. As it were, it was more like the slums of the Hidden Mist Village.

"Raito, do us both a favor, and shut up."

"Yeah, Boss," she said with the same accent.

Naruto leaned towards Sasuke and whispered, "what are they talking about? And who's Frankie?"

"How would I know?"

Kakashi smiled at the joke, being one of the only ones who understood it. "Hey, don't talk about the business in front of these guys, eh?" His accent was just as bad at Raito's, probably on purpose.

Raito started snickering behind her hand, and Haku found it amusing as well. Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto just looked confused. "Right, Boss, whatever you say, Boss," Raito agreed.

"Weren't we going to fight?"

"Anxious, aren't we Naruto? Kakashi, would you mind acting as ref?"

"Of course. I'll stop you as soon as there is a clear winner. On my mark, begin."

Raito smirked when she saw that it was intended that she go against Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura went after Haku.

"Shadow Clone jutsu!"

Narutos surrounded her. Senbon slipped into Raito's hand, and she caught a kunai between her teeth. All of the Narutos sprang at her at once, but it didn't take long for her to reduce them to puffs of smoke. During a back flip Raito slid her calf under Sakura's feet, tripping the girl. Haku took the opportunity, and almost as if he had been expecting it, pinned her to the ground with senbon to show that he was capable of killing her. During this, Sasuke seized the opportunity to clip his cheek with a kunai.

"Sakura is disqualified," Kakashi said.

Sakura stood up and walked out of the battlefield to sit with Kakashi. His head band was pulled out of the way so that he could watch the fight, Haku was moving that fast. Sasuke was taking hit after hit with the senbon, Haku moved between the trees like lightening. Raito was using a complex fighting style that Naruto didn't have a chance of understanding, as it was a blend of everything that Raito knew. Suddenly the senbon attacks stopped, and Haku appeared behind Sasuke. At the stop of the sound from the senbon cutting through the leaves, Naruto dropped his guard for a second, and Raito landed a hard kick to the face. Naruto was knocked off his feet, and crashed into a tree. At the same time, Sasuke punched Haku in the face.

Raito's head snapped in their direction.

"Haku, you ok?"

"I'm fine."

Her brief distraction was enough for Naruto to gain the upper hand, and he relentlessly attacked her with his feet and fists. To the surprise of everyone except Haku and Raito, she started laughing.

"Why are you laughing!" Naruto yelled, and started increasing the intensity of the attacks. Raito responded in kind, and grabbed Naruto's arm, and used him to feed the velocity of the kick she aimed towards his jaw. He stumbled back a few steps, and

Raito allowed him the time to recover.

"You're tougher than I thought you were, no hard feelings for that, right?"

"Right."

Sasuke was finally beginning to keep up with Haku's movement with his eyes. He blasted the edge of Haku's pants with fireball jutsu.

"I told you! Lucky pants!" Raito yelled in a clear voice.

"Shut it," Haku responded. "Your pants have nothing to do with it."

"So you're saying you just genuinely suck then?" Raito commented playfully.

"You said..."

"I never said to get your butt kicked."

"Show off."

Raito would have started laughing again, but was too busy keeping on top of Naruto. While she was only using her body so far, he was using anything he could, and waiting for the opportunity to use his Shadow Clone jutsu. The difference in fighting someone without jutsu, he learned, was that they never gave him time to use it himself. She kept both hands busy at all times. He almost wished he had taken Haku instead of letting Sasuke do it.

Then the two seamlessly switched. Instead of almost punching Raito, Naruto found his arm fully extended and being held by Haku. Sasuke felt a slight breeze over his head, and Raito landed with one leg bent, the other extended, and a hand on the

ground in front of her.

"Scared, Sasuke? You got lucky this time, Haku hardly even used his jutsu."

"Maybe I hadn't beaten Haku yet, but you should be easy."

Raito's smirk widened into a full fledged grin, "Whatever you say."

Fighting Haku was completely unlike fighting Raito. Instead of having to keep up with her movements in order to block the next punch, Naruto was forced to figure out where Haku even _was_. As soon as he created shadow clones, Haku would take them all out with his senbon. He didn't see how he was supposed to keep up with this guy, and he couldn't distract Sasuke long enough to switch with him. He could see Sasuke was having his own problems with Raito.

She wasn't even trying to remain hidden. She could hold her own in plain sight, Naruto knew. She didn't give Sasuke time to do anything other than block, and occasionally try to land a hit himself. He was desperately trying to make her mess up so he could use his jutsu, but Raito didn't give him time for any of that. She dutifully dodged anything he threw at her, while using the fact that his hand was occupied reaching for his weapons to her advantage.

Sasuke set off a smoke bomb as an attempt to buy him enough time to use his fireball jutsu. Since he knew where Raito was because of the clinking chain she was wearing around her waist, why he had no idea, she wasn't using it or anything, it should have been a good tactic.

He thought he was going to get a hand over her, when his feet where kicked out from under him and there was sharp pain in his shoulders. Raito had moved silently behind him, tripped him, and pinned him before he could finish the seal. What's more, she had him by the pressure points in his shoulders. His arms were already growing numb, she had her entire weight on the arteries that supplied the blood to his arms. A kunai held in her teeth was pointed at his jugular, even if he couldn't really see it, he could feel the razor metal nick his neck when he breathed. The majority of her face was hidden by her long bangs, which tickled his throat. Even if she hadn't had the kunai, there was no way for him to get up, her calves forced his to the ground.

Naruto had been rendered unconscious somehow. No one had been able to see because of the smoke.

"Haku and Raito win."

Raito got off. Now that she wasn't straddling him, he could relax a bit. Sasuke ignored the extended hand and got up on his own.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried when she saw the limp body of her team mate.

"Meh, he'll be fine. Give him an hour and he'll be good as new, right Haku?"

"Yes. It was a good fight, if you two had managed to switch like Naruto wanted to, you might have managed to take one of us down."

"Good thing we kept your back to him, huh Sasuke?"

_That was on purpose? They must have planned that out before the fight even started.' _"That was pretty sad, considering the training you've supposedly completed."

"Considering how much we held back... I agree, we should have done better. For a second I thought Naruto was actually going to beat me, if he had any training at all he would be excellent. Maybe I'll teach him a few tricks."

"Why?" Sakura asked quietly.

Raito pulled her hand down from her hair and twisted to look at Sakura. "Huh?"

"I don't get it, you've been nice to Naruto ever since you've met him. You didn't want to be friends with Ino, you didn't notice me at all, and you ignore Sasuke. What's so special about Naruto? It's just... Naruto. There's nothing special about him!"

"Are you bloody blind?"

"Raito," Haku said in a warning tone.

"No, this is totally deserved. I've seen the way _everyone_ treats him. He's an outcast. You disregarded him because he had a reputation for being a trouble maker, but who's fault is that? The only way he gets noticed _at all_ is if he's making trouble. If he had _one friend_ he'd feel ok, and not completely and totally _alone_. You have no idea what that feels like, when you _have_ to be your own best friend. Despite that, he's still bright and friendly, and still tries to be noticed. Do you have any idea what kind of inner strength that takes? Even when he gets shot down again and again he still gets back up and tries. Why _wouldn't_ we be his friends? Of course, you don't notice because you're blinded by your own obsession towards Sasuke. Naruto might punch me when he realizes I told you this, but damn, somebody has to. You're mean and you're petty, Sakura. It's a wonder that he likes you."

"Raito, that was harsh," Haku told her. The words were like a slap to Sakura's face. Sakura stood up and walked over to Raito. She raised a hand, and slapped the other girl across the face. Raito took the blow without a sound.

"You have no right to say those things. You have no idea!"

"In other words, I'm right and you know it, but you still don't want to change. Slap me again and I promise that you'll regret it."

Tears streamed down Sakura's cheeks, but Raito held no pity for the pink haired girl. Her silver eyes held Sakura's own green ones with not a hint of remorse or regret. Sakura refused to look away.

"Ow, my head really hurts..." At Naruto's voice, Raito completely disregarded her presence. The younger girl refused to meet anyone's gaze, and sank to the ground. "What's wrong with Sakura?"

"We got into an argument," Raito answered. "Haku and I need to get going. Goodbye."

"Sakura? What's wrong?"

"Just leave me alone, Naruto!"

Naruto withdrew when Sakura got up and started running in the opposite direction than the one Haku and Raito had gone in.

"Naruto, I know you want to go comfort Sakura, but you should wait until she wants to talk with you," Kakashi suggested. "After all, the fight was over you."

"Is that why Raito left?"

"It could have something to do with the fact Sakura slapped her across the face," Sasuke answered. "I'm surprised Raito didn't hit her back."

"Sakura slapped Raito over me? What happened? Is Raito ok?"

"Both of them are fine," Kakashi said evenly. "Raito lost her temper after Sakura questioned why she would want to be friends with you, and insulted Sakura until Sakura slapped her."

"Raito made Sakura cry... but Sakura slapped her... I don't know who's side I'm on!"

Kakashi smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure it'll work itself out."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Raito, we should probably say goodbye to Team 7. Aren't they leaving today?"

Raito didn't move from where she was sitting on the couch, reading. "Sakura might just kill me."

"Nothing that you wouldn't deserve. You made the girl cry, Raito. The least you can do is face the damage that you caused."

"She slapped me," Raito argued.

"Who's being petty now? You're going, whether you like it or not. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Which is it going to be?"

These were the reasons Raito needed Haku on her team. He kept her from doing the more stupid things, and reminded her that there were consequences for her actions. She knew that he was serious, and would drag her there if he thought he needed to. Haku kept Raito honest, and Raito did whatever she could for Haku. She kept things light and cheerful, and was aggressive when she needed to be. Raito's behavior was almost entirely revolved around Haku, there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for him. The two were so in tune with each other that there really wasn't one without the other, but their relationship was in no way romantic. They had both come to the conclusion that they didn't want their relationship to be like that, so it wasn't. Raito thought of Haku like a brother, and Haku considered Raito an adoptive sister.

"If Sakura kills me, I blame you."

"If Sakura kills you, you'll be dead."

"You think that will stop me?"

"Come on, Raito, let's just go."

Raito got off the couch and pulled on her regular shoes, black skate shoes. The duo left the house quickly.

"Haku! Raito! Wait a minute, how did you know we were leaving today?"

"I have my sources," Raito said mysteriously. "You didn't really think that we were just going to let you guys go without saying goodbye? Come on, who do you think we are?"

_'Sometimes, Raito is just too much,'_ Haku thought as he watched her at work. True, her acting skills had saved their skins before, but at times it was comical to watch her contradict everything she had done and said before. _'And she fully expects me not to contradict her too...'_

"Says the girl who I had to threaten in order to get her to come," Haku said. He could almost see Raito freeze, but she didn't.

"Raito, I'm glad you came. I wanted to apologize... for slapping you the other day, I mean. You were right," Sakura said before she lost the courage.

"I shouldn't have said it like I did, I'm not saying that it isn't true, I just should have been more sensitive towards your feelings," Raito responded. "Are we even?"

"Yeah.

"We thought that we would at least make sure that you got to the docks safely," Haku said. "If you don't mind, that is."

"Not at all," Kakashi said. "Since we probably won't being each other for a while, that's probably best."

"Haku, I have a question. How did you know when to switch with Raito? I never saw either of you give any hint that you were going to do that," Sakura asked.

"Oh, that. Before we even started the fight, we agreed that Naruto's back would be to Sasuke's and Haku's fight. That way Raito and I could keep track of what was going on in each others' fight, without Naruto being able to come to Sasuke's aid if he felt that he needed to, and I would keep all of Sasuke's attention. There are subtle patterns in our fighting styles that change when we want to communicate something, she just switched a few small things up and I knew exactly what she was planning."

"It's easy now, but it took a lot of time and practice to get it that way."

"Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye, again? You know that's not very polite."

"Raito, Haku, thank you for escorting us down here, but this is where we say goodbye."

"No. All of you are going to die today, I have no intention of keeping my promise."

"Wait, you two know each other?" Naruto asked.

"Yep, we go way back. Since you're going back on your word, fight Haku and I first."

"So eager for death, Raito. You haven't changed a bit, I see. Is it going to be like last time we fought?"

"Not a chance, now there's no one to stop us. Ready, Zabuza?"

"I've been waiting for this."

Zabuza drew his sword, and Raito took a fighting stance. They stood there, looking at each other and trying to find weaknesses for a few long seconds, and then Zabuza charged at her with his sword. Raito feigned to the right, and swung a foot to knock him off his feet, but Zabuza moved it before she could make contact. Raito took the motion as invitation to punch him under his left rib in a fluid motion, and slid under him so she was standing behind him. Zabuza turned swiftly, and drew a long line of red across her ribs. It was shallow, but Raito was too slow in leaning back to dodge it completely. She did a handspring to evade the blow that would have been fatal, and nicked him in the side of the neck with a kunai that he didn't expect, and therefore didn't dodge. Thick fog began to build over them, making visibility low.

"You think that cheap trick is going to work on me? Come on, how easily fooled do you think I am?"

Zabuza dodged the kunai Raito threw at him, but wasn't able to see the punch to the jaw coming. He used his sword to block senbon rain that Haku flung at him, but in doing so he wasn't able to prevent the chain Raito wore around her waist from pinning his arms to his sides. He tried to use his weight to pry it from her grasp, but Raito held firm. He would have tried moving towards her to loosen it, but Haku was faster, and pinned his feet to the ground using ninja stars.

Zabuza's sword hit the ground with a clang. "This is new, but you're forgetting that I can still use jutsu."

"If you insist on doing things the hard way..."

Zabuza was interrupted from his hand seal when Haku grabbed the chain and pushed some chakra through it. Sharp metal spikes sprang from it, digging into Zabuza's skin. Despite the pain, he completed the last sign and dissolved into mist. The

thinning mist took on a red hue, from the blood that was pouring out of Zabuza's body.

"You'll never defeat me, Raito. Even with your little friend."

Raito picked up Zabuza's sword, and pointed it into the mist. "We've learned a few tricks since we last fought, Zabuza. The chain isn't the only thing that I've picked up."

Quickly, Haku did a hand seal, and wind swept through the area, blowing away the mist and revealing multiple Zabuzas surrounding them, ready to kill. Had they been a second later, they would have been dead. Raito and Haku got rid of them quickly.

As soon as they were finished, a water dragon rose up, and attacked them. Raito and Haku split apart, Haku threw senbon at Zabuza while Raito dodged the water dragon again. Zabuza easily evaded the senbon, but not the slice from his own sword. The dragon fell apart, and Raito lured Zabuza back to dry ground before he could seal her in water prison jutsu. He dodged two more attacks from his sword, which Raito wielded easily. Doing this took all of his concentration though, so he wasn't able to block the quick rap to the back of the neck that Haku gave him. Zabuza fell to the ground, unconscious.

As soon as he did, Raito slumped forward and put a hand to her bleeding torso. "Damn, I haven't taken a wound like this in forever. You ok, Haku?"

"I'm fine. He's not going to be though, if he keeps losing blood like that."

"Can't have that, can we? Silly Zabuza, thinking he could beat us... though I am officially jealous. This sword is awesome."

Haku took out a kit, and got to work bandaging the older man.

"Raito, he was going to kill you, you should bandage yourself first," Sakura said with concern. "He even broke his promise, and you don't have enough bandages to heal you both."

"Regardless, I'll live. Zabuza is a friend, and he didn't break his promise like he said he would. We didn't let him. Besides, I've had worse, just not for a long time." Raito planted the top of the sword in the ground, and leaned on it heavily. "The situation is a lot more complicated than it looks, I owe him this, at the least."

"Are you saying that even though he tried to kill you, you still consider him a friend?"

"We're ninja, things happen," Haku replied. "It takes too much energy to be enemies with every person that tries to take our lives."

"This happens a lot? But you two are so young..."

Raito shrugged. "Maybe, but that doesn't matter. You guys should get going, you've got quite a trip to make."

"You two take care, ok?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, we don't want to have to come back to save you or anything," Naruto added.

"Hmph," Sasuke agreed.

"Yeah, yeah, get going already."

Raito and Haku watched the other team leave.

"Things are going to get interesting," Haku commented. "I overheard that Gato's boss is interested in Sasuke."

"Really. Shouldn't we have warned them?"

"And what good would that have done? They're cocky, they wouldn't have taken us seriously. Besides, we still don't know who Gato's boss even _is_."

"True, but we could have warned Kakashi, I don't doubt he would have understood the severity of such a statement, though he does distrust us as it is... how unfortunate. Oh well, too late now anyway. Come on, I need to get this bandaged."

Raito left Zabuza's sword next to its owner, and stood up straight, a hand still over her wound.

"Good morning, sorry I'm late, I got caught up in a meeting."

"Like we believe that! You were probably reading again, and completely forgot about us," Sakura accused.

"Here, I got you these. I thought you guys might want to participate in the Chunin exams."

"Huh?" Naruto asked dumbly.

Kakashi sighed. "In order to have the rank of Chunin instead of Genin, you must take the Chunin exams. I thought you guys might be interested, so I got permission for you to enter. Of course, you don't have to."

"Will it get me closer to becoming Hokage?"

"... Kind of."

"Then I'll do it! I'll take the exams, and even though normally I'm not good at tests, I'll pass this one with flying colors! Believe it!"

"You don't have to, but if you want to, come to the Academy at 5:00 tomorrow. I'll let you have the day to decide."

Kakashi went up in a puff of smoke, leaving the three ninja to think it over.

"Sasuke, are you going to take the exam?"

"I don't see why I wouldn't, this will be easy."

"How about you, Sakura? Are you going to take the test? I'd understand if you didn't want to, it's probably a really hard test," Naruto asked. _'I really don't want Sakura to get hurt...'_

_Can I do this? I've heard that people die during these exams... and I'm not sure that it's worth it. I know that I'm not as strong as Sasuke or Naruto... but... I'm tired of being left behind. I'll do it!'  
_

"I'll take the test," Sakura said with conviction. "The three of us will pass, there's no doubt about it!"

"Believe it!"

Sasuke mentally face palmed at their display of craziness.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_One Week Before..._

Raito dashed into the burning building. Haku wasn't with her on this one, which was odd, but Raito found no need reason to put both of their lives at risk at the same time. They both knew something like a burning building wasn't going to kill Raito, for fear of the wrath of Haku. If it did decide that it was going to make an attempt on her life, there wasn't much Haku was going to be able to do about it anyway.

The mission was to retrieve something, Raito wasn't sure what, it was supposed to be in box. Supposedly, it was located in the office. She only had a few more minutes before she had to forfeit the mission and just get out of there as fast as she could, which she had never done before. She didn't plan on doing it now, either.

The girl paused when she thought she heard a noise from what was supposed to be the boy's room. People had said that he had left the house already... Raito kicked down the door, just to be sure.

The kid inside had some bad burns, and he was her age. She avoided a piece of burning ceiling that threatened to fall on her face, and grabbed the boy out of the room. There wasn't time for conversation, she would figure all of this out later. A part of the floor became fragile and broke, but Raito just tugged the kid out of the hole and kept moving. The office had a window they could get through.

The box was sitting on the desk, the only thing that they had told her that proved to be true. She grabbed it and rammed her shoulder through the glass, shattering it, and helped the boy get through quickly. Both of them got a few cuts, but it wasn't anything that Haku couldn't fix. She didn't even notice that they boy was coughing so hard until she got far enough away from the building that she could barely feel its heat.

"Raito! What happened? The plan was you were going to get out the front door, where there isn't anything about to catch on fire!" Haku scolded when he saw the dirty girl clutching the hand of a boy he had never seen before. She held up a hand while she coughed.

"I'll explain later, he needs medical attention," she managed to get out. Haku looked at the boy critically.

"It's bad enough that I can't do it here, we need somewhere clean. Are you ok?"

"I'll be fine, mostly I got cut when we jumped through the window. Come on, we need to get out of here."

The boy said nothing on the way through the busy city, even though they took the back streets. He was still in slight shock at being saved, when evidence that he had started the fire was all around his room. Had she not seen it? He doubted that, her eyes had scanned the room with an intensity that was unmatched. What had she even been doing there? There was the box of evidence under her arm, but why save him then? He had seen the entire thing, if he needed to, he could say what happened, and people would believe him. Had she not been told what was in the box?

If Raito noticed the black haired boy's confusion and turmoil, she didn't show it. She led him dutifully through the city with Haku by the hand, never once did she relax her grip. It wasn't until they reached their apartment that she let go.

"Why?" He asked once she finally let go. "You didn't have to do that, you know. You'd probably be better off if you hadn't."

"Why? I'm not really sure. But now that we have, I'm not sure what we're going to do with you. Besides bandage you up, I mean. Don't be a pain, take off your shirt so Haku can get to your wounds," Raito ordered, her voice anything but kind and friendly. _'A kidnapping then? Where they asked to keep __me alive, but locked away?'_

"Raito and Haku, Light and White, that's interesting," he commented before hissing when the fabric touched a burn. Raito was already pulling glass out of her skin like it was no big deal. "I'm Shihizuki, by the way."

Neither of the two even bothered asked how he knew their names, which was a change. Instead Haku asked, "Are there any broken bones?"

"My ankle got a little messed up, but other that, the burns, and the glass I'm fine."

"That's good, it makes my job easier. This is going to hurt, but I have to get the glass out. You're lucky, she took most of the damage for you. Raito, what exactly were you thinking?"

"You know me, I wasn't. How long is it going to take him to heal?"

"You're not thinking what I think you're thinking. That's a bad idea."

"You saw how he moves, he has to have had some kind of training. We have a few days, besides, if we don't think he's ready, we don't have to take them this time."

Shihizuki was quiet, they were probably talking this way on purpose so he didn't know what was going on.

"We don't have anything to lose... Fine, he can take the guest room."

"Cool." Raito's piercing eyes looked at Shihizuki critically. "We're going to let you rest today, and don't set our apartment on fire. We'll explain the rest after you've healed some."

"That's so kind of you," Shihizuki muttered. "Letting me rest after I've sustained such injuries."

Raito rolled her eyes and pointed down the hall. "The first door on the left."

When Shihizuki woke up the next morning, it took him a second to remember where he was. _'Oh yeah, botched suicide attempt. Right.'_

"Morning," Raito said cheerily. "Care for some breakfast?"

Shihizuki shook his head, breakfast really wasn't his thing. His hair stuck up oddly, and in general he looked odd because he still had soot on his skin, which was also covered in burns, cuts, and antiseptic cream. On top of that, he was still wearing his clothes, which were done medium well with a hint of burnt.

"Where's Haku?"

"Probably setting up. Do you have any experience with ninja? Besides us, I mean."

"Yeah, I went through some training when I was younger. I've never really done any of it, though. If you're looking for a ninja, you might want to try and find my twin instead of me."

"Nope, too much trouble. What would you say if we asked you to join us? Haku and I are ninja, and seeing as you have no other place to go, and I think you would make a good ninja, it would benefit all three of us."

"You're definitely looking for my twin. I'm not very good at it... I'd probably screw you guys up."

"Look, if we were looking for your twin, you wouldn't be here now, with this offer. If we think that you'll screw it up, we won't let you on the team, it's that simple. Now are you going to let us test you, or are you going to go to jail for arson? If you don't come with us, you'll have a lot of explaining to do."

"Fine then, I'll take your test, Firefly."

"Raito is fine, you know."

Shihizuki shrugged. "Raito Shino, Light Bug, Firefly. It's all the same thing."

"If it was all the same thing, they wouldn't be different, now would they? "

'_Touche, Firefly. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.'_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7  
**

"Huh? Who are you?"

"It's polite to introduce yourself first, Naruto Uzamaki," Shihizuki retorted. Even with his bangs covering the scar that marred the side of his face, people were still suspicious. Some days he wondered why Raito even tried. Oh yeah, it was because he asked her to.

"So you've heard of me! Then you know what an awesome ninja I am!"

"No," Shihizuki said flatly. Naruto's face fell.

"Then how do you know my name?"

"Naruto!" Sakura called. She paused when she saw the kid Naruto was talking to was kind of creepy looking. "Who's that?"

"I don't know, he won't tell me," Naruto replied bitterly. He frowned and sat down on the spot of grass beneath the tree Shihizuki was leaning on.

"My name is Sakura Haruno," the pink haired girl introduced.

"I'm called Shihizuki. Nice meeting you."_  
_

Sakura shivered. This guy was dressed in black, his hair was a wreck, he was incredibly pale, and long bangs covered half of his face. On top of that, he was wearing long sleeves, that were black no less, when the weather was nice. His combat boots did nothing to help his image either.

"You there! You look like you think you're so tough, but I'll show you! Fight me!"

"Konohamaru, is it? I don't play with children as young as you."

"How did you know my name? No matter! I may be young, but I'm strong! I will fight you, and win!"

Shihizuki shook his head, careful not to show his scar. "If I were to land one hit on you, you would die."

"Shihizuki! Don't threaten little kids!" Raito smacked him upside the head, harder than usual. "Hi Naruto, Sakura. I see you've already met Shihizuki."

"You didn't have to hit me, I wasn't going to hurt him or anything..." Shihizuki whined.

"What are you doing in town?" Sakura asked. "You're here for the Chunin exams, aren't you?"

Raito nodded. "Are you three taking them as well?"

"Believe it! Say, where's Haku?"

"He's around here somewhere. If you'll excuse us, we have a few things that we need to do before the exams, but I'm sure we'll see each other later."

"Hey! I'm still here, and I still want to fight!" Konohamaru yelled. The two other kids behind him nodded. Raito kneeled down in front of the kid.

"We've got other things that we need to do, would it be ok if we did this later?"

"Humph, you guys are just afraid that we're going to win. Ok, I guess we can give you time to train and get ready."

"Thank you," Raito replied. She drew up to her full height. "You might want to train as well."

Konohamaru nodded, and ran in the other direction, where he probably intended to train. He fell down when he ran into someone.

"That hurt," the boy in a black suit said, and picked Konohamaru up by the back of the shirt. "You may be small, but that doesn't mean I won't hesitate to beat you up, kid."

"Oi!" Raito called.

"Hm?" Kankuro turned his attention from Konohamaru to the girl that was approaching him. Temari did the same thing.

"Put him down, it was an accident."

"Oh yeah? And who's going to make me?"

Raito crossed her arms and glared at him defiantly. At the same time, she cursed her lack of height, he was a good five inches taller than her. "I will."

Kankuro put his hand on her head. "Big words from a small person."

Raito waved away his hand. "I admit, I am impressed that you can pick on a five year old," Raito bit back sarcastically. "But if you don't put him down I'll hurt you way more than you intend to hurt him."

Kankuro help Konohamaru even higher from the ground. "If you want him, take him."

"Enough. You prove nothing by beating up a few kids."

_'Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro are all siblings judging from their last names. Not only that, but Gaara has a demon sealed inside of him. I'll need to warn Raito if it looks like it's going to come to a fight,'_ Shihizuki thought.

Kankuro dropped Konohamaru, and Raito caught the small boy and set him safely on the ground. He and his friends ran away. Raito dropped her offensive stance, but didn't completely drop her guard. She looked at Gaara, who was hanging upside down from the branch of a nearby tree.

"I assume you three are here for the exams?"

"Why else would we be here?" Kankuro asked. "You sure are slow."

"I wouldn't be so sure, it isn't exactly the best of ideas to pick on little kids in someone else's village," Shihizuki defended. "Come on, Raito, we have other things to do. Until we see each other again, Kankuro, Temari, Gaara."

Raito and Shihizuki turned to leave**.  
**

"Wait."

Sasuke's command caught everyone's attention. Raito turned her entire body, while Shihizuki moved only his eyes. _'An Uchihah? I wonder how the Sharingan compares to my own eyes...'_

"Hm?"

"Shihizuki, right? I want to know something."

"What do you want to know? I'm not guaranteeing an answer."

"How did you know their names?"

"You're a smart little Uchihah, you'll figure it out."

While it was unlikely that Shihizuki already knew the sand ninja, it was plausible, as was Raito telling him about Sasuke. The way he said it made all this seem unlikely though. Perhaps it was because there was no way to read this guy, between his face being hidden in the shadows and the dark bangs covering his face, combined with the fact that he was with Raito, made him an anomaly. Shihizuki was a stark contrast to Haku, and it made Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke realize how little they actually knew Raito.

_Who are those two? It's fairly obvious that the guy is the leader and protects the girl, but do they intend to enter the exam with just the two of them? They'll get eaten alive in there...'_ Temari thought as she and her bothers left. _'Hidden Mist Village isn't reputed for having a great ninja program, in fact, just the opposite. They can't possibly think they stand a chance...'_

_This Shihizuki guy, what is he doing with her? He may look tough, but I doubt he's as good as Raito or Haku, he can't have been with them that long or we would have met him before...' _Sasuke couldn't make heads or tails of his presence, there were just too many variables. _'In any case, I'll be able to beat him, and I look forward to the fight.'  
_

_'Is that Raito's boyfriend? Has he come to support her, or something? She sure does have weird taste... I wouldn't date that guy if you paid me.'  
_

"Sakura, do you think we'll have to fight them?"

"I hope not. Did you see how that guy took the lead from Raito? He must be really powerful to earn her respect like that."

"Or they're bluffing. Raito looks less intimidating than usual standing next to a person like that. If they underestimate her like we did, it would work to their advantage," Sasuke explained.

"Point."

"That still doesn't explain why Raito wasn't acting as friendly towards us as normal," Naruto griped.

"Get real, Naruto, they're not here to be our friends, they're our competition," Sakura berated. "I doubt that he's on her team though. I don't think anyone could meet Raito's qualifications that quickly. I think he might be her boyfriend, that's the only way I can see anyone getting away with that kind of behavior with Raito."

"..."

Sasuke fell out of the tree.

"That's not possible!" Naruto and Sasuke said at the same time, then glared at each other.

"Are you saying that Raito can't get a boyfriend or something?" Sakura asked. "I guess it would be pretty hard with Haku there and all..."

_'I guess it is possible...' _Naruto thought. _'But, I'm going to make sure he's good for Raito first. I don't want her to get hurt...'_

_'I shouldn't be this angry over that... so what if Raito has a boyfriend? It shouldn't matter to me,'_ Sasuke thought angrily. _'She's not my concern right now. I need to concentrate on the exams...'_

"Naruto, where are you going? Idiot, you don't even know where to find her."

"Yeah I do," he replied. "And I could find her before you anyway."

Electricity flowed between the two from the force of their glares.

"I doubt that."

"Find who?"

A shiver ran up Sakura's, Naruto's, and Sasuke's backs. Despite all of their bravado, Shihizuki really just creeped all of them out. It was like a horror movie when they looked behind them to see Shihizuki standing there, behind them. It was easy to imagine that instead of hands in his pockets, which they had yet to see, he had long claws that would tear them each to shreds. His eyes, instead of looking at them, seemed to look through them. Mainly this was because instead of looking at them, he was looking at the space above their heads, where a series of numbers resided, which only he could see. These numbers, if deciphered correctly, would tell him a few things. One set, the one that floated directly over their heads, would tell him when they would die. If applicable, other numbers would appear, such as when a seal or curse would appear, and information about their demon. Despite never having had to decipher information about a person's demon before, Shihizuki automatically knew which set told him what. Naruto had four sets of numbers, Sakura had one, and Sasuke had three. He put a thumb to his mouth, but didn't bite it.

"H-how long have you b-been standing there?" Naruto asked. Any second he was fully expecting the darkly dressed boy to burst into flames from the light of the sun.

"Long enough," he replied vaguely, his eyes never shifting from the space above Naruto's head. His head tilted to the side a little when he came to the conclusion of his equation, but he didn't believe it, so he started rechecking his math. "I bet that doesn't happen very often..." he said to himself.

"W-what is?" Naruto stuttered. This boy was really beginning to creep him out.

Shihizuki's eyes darted to meet Naruto's own. "I'm not exactly sure..." he replied, as if in a daze.

"So you can see me, eh? Those are some very interesting eyes you've got there," a voice said. Shihizuki jumped a bit in shock, the nine tailed fox was talking to him. "I've never seen them before. Why don't you tell me about them?"

Naruto gasped in shock as well. "Is that..?"

Shihizuki nodded. "You can hear it too? I suppose you would... all the same... this shouldn't be possible..."

"What's going on?" Sakura demanded. The nine tailed fox laughed.

"So even you don't know, that makes things all the more interesting. I look forward to watching you. So tell me, little human, how does it feel to look in the mirror? I bet that's disconcerting."

"I knew it! You're really a vampire, so when you look in the mirror you can't see your reflection!"

Shihizuki shook his head. For whatever reason, he could read everyone elses' numbers but his own. The space above his head was blank, like a dead person's. "No. I..." a tear slipped down his face, trailing the edge of the burn. It went unseen beneath his bangs. Other than that, he gave no sign of his distress. "How do you know so much about me?"

"Every demon knows about you," the fox replied. "Only death has the answers that you're looking for. Want me to fetch him for you?"

"No. I'm sure I'll find him in my own time... Raito?"

"Who else? Hey, are you ok?" she asked when she spotted distress written on his face. It was barely there, but she could still see it. "What happened?"

"We talked to his demon," Shihizuki answered somewhat shakily. "He knows, the demon does."

"How much?"

Shihizuki looked at Raito. "Way more than he should. Apparently to demons, I'm common knowledge. Just freaking great..."

"What was he talking about? He said something about your eyes being interesting..."

"I guess we might as well tell them, it's not like we've got anything to lose, after this I'm leaving anyway. For as long as I can remember, I've been able to see how much time people have left, as well as their names just by seeing their face. I didn't know it before, but I guess I can see some other things about a person too. I know when you and your demon die, and when someone is going to put a seal or curse on you. I guess I can see and talk to peoples' demons as well." Shihizuki sighed.

"Raito, you make the most interesting friends, that's all I'm saying."

"So what did he mean about the mirrors then? You still haven't explained that."

"I can't see my own name, or when I'm going to die. The place where that information normally appears is blank to me. When a person is dead, the information isn't there anymore either, so yes, it is disconcerting."

"I see. So I was right, you are a vampire."

Shihizuki face palmed. "Idiot, I'm not undead." He grabbed Naruto's hand and put it to the side of his neck, just below his jaw. "Feel that? That would be a heartbeat. I am alive, damnit."

"...oh. Heh, I guess I was wrong. This skin feels weird though."

Shihizuki moved his bangs, showing the scar that traced up to his temple. It started near the top of his neck, and curved all the way up the side of his faced. "This, kids, is why it's dangerous to play with fire."

"What happened?" Sakura asked.

"My house caught on fire while I was in it," he replied. Technically it wasn't a lie, and he didn't want to admit to a suicide attempt just yet. "The only reason I'm even alive is because Raito happened to be there at the time."

"We, Haku and I, were on a mission to get something out of the house. On my way out, I saw Shihizuki, so I got him out as well."

"That's so romantic! And since he had nowhere to go, you let him stay, and once you two fell in love, you just couldn't let him go!" Sakura gushed.

"Er, Sakura? What the hell are you talking about?"

"But now he's leaving you because he doesn't want to put you in danger!" Sakura continued. "It's..."

"...only in your head?" Shihizuki finished for her. "I hardly need to protect Raito, and I think that the whole rescue thing was more of an afterthought. Besides, we aren't 'in love' or any of that nonsense. We're just friends." The whole thought was amusing to Shihizuki. "I don't have time for that kind of thing, holding those kind of affections would only hold me back. I can't afford that."

"Hold you back from what?" Naruto asked.

"That would be a secret. Exams start soon though, right? We should get going, Haku will meet us there."

When they got there, Haku was already waiting, a giant sword in his hand. He looked grim.

"He said this was yours."

There was no question as to who, Raito just took it. "How?"

"Gato."

"Who?" Shihizuki asked. As far as information went, he hardly knew more than Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. Haku and Raito worked on a need to know basis.

"He was in charge of our education and getting us jobs," Raito explained. "He was also the head of a cooperate empire, and a part of the yakuza."

"What's the yakuza?"

"Do you know nothing? The yakuza is a large criminal organization that makes money largely by anything illegal. Until recently, this area was controlled by the Hiraku family, but they fell apart after their leader died and the heir was an idiot. He wound up getting them caught, not that this area is particularly profitable anyway," Raito replied. "That's why no one has set up here since."

"And how do you know so much about this?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

Raito shrugged. "It's our job to know. A good ninja knows how different organizations are moving, and why. For instance, the yakuza has connections pretty much all over the world, and they communicate with each other. If one family owed another or for whatever reason benefited from tipping another, they might share information such as if their country was going to attack. During times of war, the demand for their services goes up, so if the shipment of drugs were to increase, it might be a sign that there were plans for war. Not only that, but they have a large hand in things, and are often a good source of information if you know what you're doing. Now having said this, don't get involved with them. The yakuza has a way of sucking you in until you can't get out. None of you are ready to deal with anything on their level."

"Hey, hey! You sound like you've been involved with them before, if you can handle it, so can I!"

Raito smirked. "There's no way you'd survive. It's exactly that kind of attitude that would give them reason to slit your throat. Besides, you have too many morals, I can hardly see you blackmailing someone, much less killing someone in cold blood over money."

"You still haven't answered the question," Naruto accused.

"Yeah, I have a history with the yakuza, and I have contacts there still. Why?"

"Hm...hm... I don't believe it."

"That's probably just as well. It's not like it really concerns you guys anyway." Raito attached the giant blade to her back after she said this. "Shall we finally go inside?"

As they passed down the hall, eyes automatically went to Raito's blade, and then to Sasuke. The sword was impressive, but the girl who went with it was small and there was nothing special about her other than the blade. Sasuke, on the other hand, was an Uchiha. The boy was a known prodigy, and an obvious threat. The girl behind him probably dressed for show, with her black cargo pants, dark grey shirt, the chain around her waist, the choker around her neck, and the sword. It was an obvious scare tactic, combined with the scary boy behind her. The fact that she was from Mist Village didn't help either, so her team was written off as not a threat.

_So those kids from Hidden Mist Village think they actually have a chance...does she think that the sword will give her a chance? It's a flashy weapon, but huge. It would take a lot of energy to use it, she'll get tired within the first five minutes of a fight. If it's only there for show, then they would be better off if the more intimidating of the three held it, not that something like that would actually work on us,' _Temari thought.

What didn't make any sense at all was Haku. Raito was dressed marginally darkly, Shihizuki was goth personified minus the makeup, and Haku just looked innocent. Teal is not an intimidating color, so Haku just looked out of place.

Of course, they didn't know that Haku used to be a hunter nin, and was arguably the strongest one out of the entire group. Raito had yet to win in a fight against him, and Shihizuki stood no chance. In any case, it didn't matter what the Genin thought.

Raito, Haku, and Shihizuki weren't there to become Chunin, they were on an official mission from the Hokage. Becoming a Chunin would be a step back for them, they would gain nothing by being judged by normal standards. They were already doing missions of that level, there was no need to prove that that they could. Right now, they were on a mission to protect Sasuke from Orochimaru, and possibly Naruto from the Akasuki.

Passing the exams was the last thing on Raito's mind when she scribbled down the answers to the problems on the page. For Genin, this test would be difficult and force them to try and cheat, but for Haku and Raito this was easy. Shihizuki didn't have a problem either, despite the fact that he didn't know how to solve the equations yet. The test was on a point reduction system, if he didn't put down any answers, they couldn't take off any points. Technically, he was neither right or wrong, and would get a perfect score.

No, what she was concerned about was the Ninja from Hidden Sound Village and the ninja called Kabuto. For taking the exams seven times, it was odd that he would help a team, the fact that it was Sasuke's team in particular set off warning bells in Raito's head. Not only that, but he intentionally prompted an attack from the Hidden Sound Village ninja to see how they attacked. This said that he knew that their attacks were special, when the Hidden Sound Village were just as secretive as the Hidden Star Village. The fact that he singled out the Hidden Sound Village of all the secretive villages led Raito to think there was something between them, which wasn't good. There was no reason for the Hidden Leaf Village to have a connection to the Hidden Sound Village, let alone the fact he was Genin.

She was suspicious of Hidden Sound Village because of the way Gato had treated it. While she hated him, Raito knew that Gato was at least fairly intelligent, and wouldn't avoid a village without reason. He had regarded it fearfully, and Raito suspected it had something to do with his boss. His boss was in charge of the village, from what it sounded like. He also was extremely cunning, and sneaky. If he led such a small village as the Sound, it had to be full of prodigies and persons of use. From what it sounded like, there wasn't any reason for them to be here as well, so there was something nefarious going on.

What it could be, Raito wasn't sure. The fact that Sasuke was here could have something to do with it, but she couldn't rule out the other possibilities. There was a chance that Kabuto just wanted information, and the ninja were proving themselves so someone important would notice them.

Those were just the people that had direct contact with Sasuke and Naruto. Also among the people that Raito was watching were the desert ninja, and those from Lightening Country. Wind Country held a grudge because of the deal that had been made not too long ago, limiting their power. Raito had heard of Gaara of the sand as well, a demon had been sealed inside of him as an effort to create a super weapon, but that had backfired and now he was viewed as a threat to the village. It was unlikely that he had been sent after Sasuke, because he was supposedly extremely unstable, but they wouldn't need him alive in order to conduct research on the sharingan. Lightening Country was probably still mad because of the lack of information they could pull from Hyuga's body, and getting the sharingan would be a goal they were likely trying to achieve.

There were too many possible suspects at this point. There were five different teams, Sand, Kabuto's, Sound, and two from Cloud, that had motive to attack Sasuke. Any of the teams, ok, that wasn't true, Raito knew for a fact that there were a few teams that were not allied with the Akasuki, but a large portion of the teams could be allied with the Akasuki. It didn't seem like their style, but they had only started moving recently, so it was a possibility.

When the proctor, who Raito happened to know personally, gave them the option of taking the last part of the exam or leaving, Raito made herself comfortable in her seat. She could tell that he was bluffing, and Shihizuki and Haku wouldn't argue with her on this one. She was undisputed leader, there was no question of it.

She was a bit surprised when Sakura put her hand up though. Shortly after, Haku's hand went up as well, and the three ninja left the room. There was no reason for them to be there if the people they were protecting weren't, after all. Raito stayed behind while Haku and Shihizuki went to wait outside. Nothing was going to happen that Raito and a few guards couldn't handle, and if it got any further than that, Haku and Shihizuki would notice.

Raito watched boredly from her hiding place while Naruto demanded why Sakura had pulled them from the test, and then they argued a bit, and finally Kakashi broke it up. As soon as Kakashi appeared, Raito decided that her presence was no longer needed.

"Where the heck..?"

"Raito? What are you doing out here? Did you guys quit?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, there was no reason for us to take that test if it was going to be that easy. I just wanted to know if we could, you know?"

"You mean that test was easy for you?" Naruto asked disbelievingly. Even Sakura had trouble answering those questions.

"Oh yeah. You're forgetting that I'm no ordinary ninja though. I decided that I really didn't want to go through the trouble of taking that entire test at the same time Haku put his hand up, so it worked out."

"If you're so convinced that you could easily beat the test, then fight me!"

"Meh?"

"I see that you're rendered speechless out of fear for my fists of might! There is no need to be scared though, I shall go easy on you!"

"No, that's not it at all. I'm trying to figure out why you're dressed like you're from the eighties. I thought we killed those a few years back. Of course, it wasn't easy, we had to use everything we had and then some things that we didn't, and some silver bullets, but now it's risen again."

Sakura giggled. Lee just looked offended.

"This material is super lightweight and breathable, thank you very much."

"If you say so."

"It also happens to be extremely youthful! Wait, you're just going to drop it at that?"

"Why wouldn't I? I think I've done the right amount of insulting."

"Such honorable youthfulness! You truly are a worthy opponent! Draw your sword, and fight me!"

"Draw my sword? Hun, this isn't a toy. It's for killing. My control isn't quite down yet, it's been a while since I've used a weapon this heavy, and I don't want to inflict any unnecessary damage."

"I doubt something like that could hit me, so please! Show me your youthful skill!"

_Is this kid for real? Who _says _that?'_ "Rock Lee, right? Master of Taijutsu? Might Guy is your sensei, and Neji Hyuga as well as TenTen... not sure of her last name, are on your team, correct?" Raito asked as she took the sword off her back. She would need every ounce of speed she had if she was going to fight this kid, the sword would only slow her down. She pulled out a blindfold and tied it over her eyes.

Lee blushed. "I'm not sure if 'master' is an accurate description..."

"You have every right to be proud of that, I've heard of you. That alone says something about your skills. My name is Raito. Ready?"

"Are you sure you want to fight me with a blindfold?"

"Yep. Anytime now."

Raito deftly dodged a kick, then several punches, and then several more attempts easily. She may have been slower, but she fought Haku, which taught her how to listen and predict the next move. Lee was also slower than Haku, and she returned in kind, landing every hit. Fighting like this was her forte, but it was Lee's as well. He flipped away, and Raito lifted her blindfold.

"I see that in order to defeat you I'll..."

"Lee!"

"Guy sensei!"

"And so an adult crashes the part yet again..." Raito sighed. "I have the feeling things were just about to get fun too..."

"Lee! What have I told you about fighting outside of matches?" he scolded.

Raito bowed. "My apologies, Guy sensei. It was my fault. I should have declined when he offered to fight me, I was just curious because I've heard of the name Rock Lee. I have yet to see his full power, but he's just as good as his reputation suggests," Raito said honestly.

"Raito! I thought we agreed..."

Shihizuki stopped when he saw the look of unholy fury burning in her eyes. "Excuse me, Guy sensei, but there's something I have to take care of."

"Now before you start, there's something I have to..."

"What could you possibly say that would excuse your irresponsible behavior!"

Despite his dignity, Shihizuki knew that he was no match for a furious Raito. The most logical thing for him to do would be running, so he ran. "It was all Haku's idea! Please don't maim me!"

When they got back, Might Guy and Lee were still acting like they were a scene from a really bad movie. Raito picked up the giant carving knife and put it on her back. Despite the sappiness of it, she couldn't help but a bit jealous that Lee had someone there to support him and guide him.

"So you're the reputed Raito. Kakashi told me about you, since you're no longer taking the exams, feel free to train with us whenever you like!"

"Thank you for the offer, but I'll have to refuse. I assume Kakashi has informed you of the nature of our mission?"

"Normally I'd be concerned that someone such as yourself couldn't handle it, but you're so full of youth and vitality that it is sure to be a success! Come, Lee."

"Yes, Guy sensei!"

"Wait a minute, if you would. I'm concerned for Neji, as well. He may not be on my team or any of my concern, but if my sources are correct, this would be the perfect time for the two teams of ninja from the Village Hidden in the Clouds to strike. I can't really do anything about it at this point, but I thought that a warning is in order."

"So considerate of others as well! It touches my heart. I will keep this in mind, young Raito."

"Raito, why are you so concerned about Neji? Why would the ninja from Hidden Cloud Village try to go after him?" Lee asked.

"I'm sure Neji wouldn't appreciate my telling you, but I suppose you can ask him yourself."

"Ask me what?"

"To watch your back," Raito replied before Lee could say anything. She wasn't exactly in the mood to be interogated. "I'm sure Guy sensei would be happy to explain."  
"That's not what..."

"Tact, Lee. It's called tact." At this point, Raito was glad that Team Seven had already left. Naruto had as much tact as Lee. "Lee wants to know why the Cloud ninja might want to kidnap you. Now if that's all..."

"What do you know about the Hyuga clan?" Neji demanded. Raito sighed. All of this would have been avoided if Lee just used his head for a second...

"I'm under no obligation to tell you, and I'm doing you a favor. I mean no harm to you, I swear it." In the yakuza, if you swore something, it was absolute. To break such a promise would mean death, regardless of who you offended. To Raito, it wasn't an option to not uphold such honor, even if neither of them were affiliated with the organization enough to warrant death.

Neji didn't comprehend the amount of weight Raito put behind such a promise. "How would you know about the Hygua clan when you're from Hidden Mist Village?"

"I know a lot of things, don't look a gift horse in the mouth." Raito never did understand that saying, the reason they lost the war was because they didn't question the motives of the giver. "I do have to get going though, I don't have all night to stand around and chat."

Neji did not trust Raito, at all. Already she knew too much, and there was just something about her that screamed there was something fishy going on. "Damn noobs."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**  
"Raito, open this door." There was no answer. Sasuke banged on it some more. "Raito!"

Haku looked at the door. "Shouldn't we let him in? I'd rather not have to replace it."

"Nah, he'll be fine. Go fish."

Haku drew a card. "Damn. Do you have a three?"

Raito handed over the card. "Nobody's home!" she yelled when the assault on her door didn't let up.

"Raito, open this door or I'm breaking it down!"

"No thanks, we don't want any make up. Any fives?"

"Raito, I already have that set."

"Right, I knew that. Ok, I know you have a ten, hand it over."

Haku handed the card over, and Raito laid down the set.

"You have to come out some time!" Sasuke yelled angrily. "Just open the door."

Raito looked at the moniter, which showed Sasuke in front of the door, looking rather miffed. "You know, if we don't open it soon, he might just break it down. Any eights?"

"Go fish. Do you think we could coerce Shihizuki into opening it?"

"You really want to wake up a hardcore insomniac just to answer the door? Are you really that suicidal? Despite what you say, I know you have a four. Hand it over."

"But-but I love the four. It's my best friend."

"I thought I was your best friend?"

There was no resisting Haku's "cute face" over something so inconsequential. "I suppose I could part with it... if you gave me your seven."

"But you just gave me this seven."

"I know, but I need it back. That seven messed with the wrong people, so I need to teach it a lesson."

Haku handed over the seven, and Raito gave him the four.

"Raito, this is the last time I'm asking you to answer the door before I go get a screwdriver."

"You don't have one."

"You searched my apartment?"

"No, but you didn't give Cathy from down the hall one when she asked. Either you have a grudge against Cathy, which is impossible, because it's Cathy, you couldn't find one, or you don't own one. Based on your response, I'm guessing that you don't have one."

"... I don't think I've ever had such devoted stalkers before. Which is saying something. I kind of expected this kind of behavior from Raito, but you too, Haku? And Shihizuki?"

"Shihizuki is sleeping at the moment, actually. Ok, fine, I guess I can let you in."

"Humph."

Raito opened the door, revealing a pretty much empty apartment. On the floor were some cards, and Haku. In the background there was some music playing.

"What do you mean you expect this kind of behavior from me? It's my turn, right?"

"Yep."

"You're a girl, and you know too much about everybody."

Sasuke was referring to the amount of stalking they had done recently. It wasn't actually that bad, given that they were providing protection detail and had been pretty subtle about it. He just assumed, rightly, that they were doing it all the time, he just wasn't aware of it.

"Five? Since being subtle isn't working, I guess we'll have to let you in. Kakashi heard that Orochimaru was in the area, and looking for you. We're actually here on protection detail, hired by the Hokage. We were keeping this a secret because we were asked to, unless something like this happened. The Hokage doesn't want people to know about it."

"Go fish. Recently Kakashi's suspicions were confirmed, as well as our own. Orochimaru left evidence that he was here, and attempting to sneak into the Chunin exams. While it would have been great if you guys hadn't dropped out..."

"... at the same time it's a tiny bit safer. Not by much, but if he comes after you..."

"... it can't be called fair, no matter how you look at it..."

"... but had you gone into the Forest of Death..."

"... the next part of the exams..."

"... if he had faked your death..."

"... which he could have easily..."

"Will you two stop finishing each others' sentences? It's really annoying."

"Fine. No one would be able to stop him. Since he's the leader of the Sound Village, something like that would give him grounds for war, and already he's amassed allies. If they were to strike, this village wouldn't stand much of a chance. There are at least five different teams that have motive to attack, not to mention their leaders. Are you following, or are we going into too much detail?"

"What? Who is Orochimaru and why is he coming after me?" Sasuke hated that he didn't know what was going on with himself, much less that Raito and Haku did. "He's the leader of the Hidden Sound Village, that has nothing to do with me."

"Didn't, now it does. He wants the sharingan, but he can't go after Itatchi because... I'm not exactly sure why. Regardless, he's decided to target you, as well as the entire village. He wanted to become Hokage, but was denied, so now he holds a grudge. He also wants to learn every jutsu, and he developed a few of his own. If I remember correctly, among these was one that allowed him to become immortal by taking over the bodies of other people."

"Stupid body snatcher," Raito muttered.

"... So you're not stalking me because you like me," Sasuke concluded.

"I think you need to go now, you're not fully comprehending what we just told you," Raito suggested.

"I think you might be right. I'll just leave then..."

Shihizuki yawned as he came out of his room. He stretched, and looked at Raito and Haku who had just finished their game. "Who was that just now?"

"Sasuke, we told him about Orochimaru."

Shihizuki nodded, and yawned again. "Wait a minute, Sasuke knows about Orochimaru? Wasn't that bad?"

"Meh, it was bound to happen sooner or later."

Cathy balanced her laundry basket on one hip while she walked down the hall. The old lady stopped when she noticed Sasuke, who still had a vacant look on his face.

"Sasuke, love, are you ok?"

"Oh, hi Cathy. I'm fine. Do you need help with that?"

"Oh no, I'm fine. Cute girl, that one, but I don't trust her," Cathy said, nodding at Raito's door. "Some strange people came by the other night, shady people, that lot. My old ears couldn't catch what was said, but it was very suspicious. Cathy just wouldn't want to see you get hurt."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Cathy made a habit of sitting out in the hall, knitting in an old rocking chair and keeping track of what was going on in the buildings, and was a notorious gossip as well. She had a kind heart though, and was always saying nice things as well as looking out for people.

Especially Sasuke. He disappeared into his apartment.

"Excuse me, but I'm looking for someone named Raito Shino, and I appear to be lost," a man who appeared to be in his twenties but sported grey hair said. He wore black clothes with silver trim, and glasses. "I was wondering if you knew where she was staying?"

"And who might you be, young man?" Cathy asked.

"My name is Abel Nightroad, I'm a traveling priest. I was passing through town, and I heard she was here, so I thought I would stop by and say hello." The Father smiled. "Unfortunately, I seem to have forgotten where she lives."

"I think you've got the wrong building, love. The only Raito here is around thirteen years old, and I'm not sure what her last name is."

"Is she around this tall and blonde?" Father Nightroad asked.

"Well, yes... try that door right there," Cathy replied hesitantly. She had no idea why Raito would want to see a priest, but to each her own, she supposed.

"Thank you. In return, I'd like to help you with that basket, it seems rather heavy."

"Well, poppet, that's a generous offer, but I'm fine. Good luck with that one," she said, nodding at Raito's door. _'God bless the soul who tries to convert that fiery little thing.'_

"Thank you." The traveling priest knocked on the door, and patiently waited for an answer.

"FATHER!" and was promptly glomped. Haku shook his head at Raito's antics, and Shihizuki had no idea who this guy was supposed to be. His numbers were missing, leaving only a name.

"It's good to see you again too, and Haku. I'm afraid I don't recognize him."

"Shihizuki," he introduced, holding out a hand for the older man to shake. "I'm a friend of Raito's."

Said girl let go of Abel. "What are you doing here in Konoha? I thought the Church didn't involve itself in our affairs... you know what, let's talk about this later. You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"You always were perceptive," Abel said sheepishly. "I don't want to impose..."

"And you're too polite. Come on, let's go get some lunch. Wait, you wouldn't mind if I invited a friend, would you? He's not on our team, but we've been asked to watch out for him."

"That's right, ninja are usually in teams. I didn't realize they were this close, though, to keep each others' constant company."

"We're different from normal ninja, and there are forces at work that call for constant guard. Not that your presence isn't reassuring."

_'It makes me wonder who this guy really is that he would be a priest, yet no numbers, and Raito would say something like that. Raito hasn't complimented someone that honestly since I've met her...' _Shihizuki thought. "Were we going to get Sasuke and go, or stand around and chat in the hallway all day?"

"That depends on whether or not Sasuke would like to go, wouldn't it?" Raito retorted. She knocked on Sasuke's door.

"What do you want now?" he asked irritably.

"Lunch. We're buying. Are you coming or not?"

"Sasuke doesn't exactly have the sunniest of dispositions," Haku told Abel. "But we're kinda stuck with him anyway."

Shihizuki nodded in agreement. "He's kind of a princess too."

Sasuke's eye twitched at the last comment. "I'm right here, you know."

"Yep."

"It's kind of hard to ignore the presence of 'the incredible Sasuke.'" Shihizuki could honestly say he didn't care what Sasuke thought of him, and therefore had no qualms with making fun of him.

"Ok, you three stay here, Father and I will have lunch. We'll see you when we get back."

_Thank you, Haku and Shihizuki, for giving Raito's father a bad impression of me,' _Sasuke thought sarcastically. By this point, the two of them had already left, leaving Sasuke, Shihizuki, and Haku in the hall. "You two made me look bad in front of Raito's dad," he accused.

Shihizuki had an idea that was less than honorable, but then again, he never did care for that kind of thing. "What of it? You don't have a reason to want to impress him."  
Haku caught on to what Shihizuki was doing immediately, and kept his mouth shut. He didn't particularly like Sasuke either, much less as a potential boyfriend for Raito. As her best friend, he felt that he had somewhat of a responsibility to filter boys that were completely unworthy. As of yet, Sasuke was still on that list, so he wasn't about to contradict his team mate.

"I..."

"Unless you happen to like Raito." The look on Shihizuki's face as he said this was nothing short of demonic, malicious intent. Haku's expression wasn't nearly as scary, but it wasn't exactly reassuring either. Sasuke had to rethink the wisdom of letting them know that he liked Raito. If they wanted to, he was sure they were capable of making him experience unholy terror, and from the look on Shihizuki's face, they wanted to.

"So what's the real reason you're here?" Raito asked while stirring her ice with her straw. It was a habit she had, one that annoyed the heck out of Haku.

"I can't just stop by to say hello?" Abel asked, looking innocent. Raito didn't buy it.

"Nope. Not with the things that are going on here. I'd understand if you were passing through and needed a place to stay, if it wasn't at a time when critical information was just gathered. I take it this has something to do with Orochimaru?"

"I'm not at liberty to say much, especially knowing you, but yes, it does have to do with Orochimaru." Abel paused with his ramen half way to his mouth. "Why do I get the feeling that I just said too much?"

"Nah, you're just confirming what I already knew. He's planning an attack on this village, in the near future. Is he really getting to be that powerful that he has the Church concerned?"

"That's what I'm here to confirm. The Village Hidden in the Sound, as you probably already know, is a very secretive place, and I've been asked to gather information on it. You wouldn't happen to know anything, would you?"

"Is there a place I don't know anything about? I've never been to the Village Hidden in the Sound personally, and I'm not sure how relevant the information I do have on it is, but I'm willing to share if you'd be willing to shed some light on my own situation. If you're able to, that is. If not, no hard feelings."

"I almost forgot that you've been just about everywhere there is to be. Now that I think about it..."

"I should have been one of the first people that you asked?"

"No, I was going to say it explains your weird taste in music."

Raito mentally face palmed. She had forgotten what, exactly, it was like to be around the priest. "Thanks," she said sarcastically.

"Anytime!"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"The Hokage is splitting up Team 7 for a bit, but we're to keep an eye on Sasuke as usual. Where's Father Abel?"

"He has other things that he needs to do right now. Turns out even they are concerned about Orochimaru. There are some rumors going around, sure, but I didn't know the Church was actually going to take them that seriously."

"Anything we need to be concerned about?" Shihizuki asked. He didn't know why this church was so important, but Raito seemed to be putting a lot of weight on it, so...

"I don't think so, Father said we shouldn't worry about it, and I'm not inclined to get involved. Church stuff is not my thing."

Shihizuki nodded, not really wanting to get involved himself. "Anything else useful?"

"Orochimaru is definitely planning on attaching Konoha. Not sure when as of yet, but it's definitely going to happen. Shihizuki, this information needs to be kept to ourselves, Father wasn't supposed to tell me me anything, and I don't want to get him in trouble."

"I understand, I'm not stupid."

"Sorry, most people would want to tell someone to protect the innocents, not that I in any way condone your attitude towards this. Which reminds me, in the event that the Akatsuki come in an attempt to kidnap Naruto during the chaos, which isn't their style, but all the same, Sasuke absolutely can not get close to them. If that happens, we'll execute a code three, agreed?"

Haku and Shihizuki nodded. Both of them knew about Sasuke's past and the Akutsuki already, as did Raito, obviously.

"It will be nice to have some free time now. The Hokage made it clear that while Sasuke is with Kakashi, we won't need to protect him. Which means..."

"We'll be able to explore other possible job options. Excellent. After Orochimaru comes, is there a place in particular you'd like to go, Shihizuki? Between the three of us, you've probably traveled the least..."

"Anywhere?" Shihizuki asked dubiously.

"Well, not anywhere, per say, but pretty much, yeah. Want me to go get a map?" Raito asked, somewhat pleased by Shihizuki's reigned in enthusiasm. To pretty much anyone else, it would have been invisible, but Raito and Haku made a point of knowing Shihizuki to their best of their abilities.

Shihizuki nodded, and got up to retrieve it. Haku looked at Raito seriously. "You aren't going to have a problem leaving Konoha, are you? I know you've grown attached to a certain neighbor who lives across the hall..."

"I'll get over it. I can't afford distractions anyway, remember?"

Haku gave Raito a look. "Love isn't a distraction."

Raito blushed the tiniest bit. "I don't love him. He's just one of those people that if I'm not careful, I could place him in front of..." Raito's expression sobered, and she looked at Haku seriously. "I can't allow myself to get too attached. There are other things that need to come first."

"Raito, you have to be one of the most difficult people I have ever met. I'm half tempted to just tell him for you." Haku was entirely serious, but there were no real intents to do something that would hurt his best friend. Most of the reason he said it was for the reaction.

Everything about Raito seemed to harden. "No. Leaving Konoha is for the best, don't make it any harder than it has to be."

Haku didn't like this, but was forced to accept it. It was obvious that Raito was not budging on this this, no matter what he said. The only conclusion that he could reach was that it had something to do with whatever it was she was protecting that she also refused to tell him about.

It was getting really annoying by this point, but there wasn't much Haku could do about it. If he pushed it any further, Raito would start treating him with formal iciness, not something Haku wanted to go through again. It was as far as he had pushed her, so far, for a good reason. Raito was very good at pushing just the right buttons to make a point while not _quite_ hurting. The insults, as guarded and hidden as they were, still stung.

The topic was officially closed when Shihizuki came back with a map, and both of them let it go. Shihizuki was aware that something had happened, he knew Raito and Haku fairly well by now, but didn't say anything about it. He knew by now that no matter what he did, he wasn't going to get straight answers out of either of them.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"What do you mean, you're relieving us of duty?"

Haku almost shook his head. Raito's lack of respect was going to get them in trouble one of these days. He wasn't sure if she was even capable of acknowledging someone else's superiority. At times like these, it sure didn't seem like it.

"If Orochimaru was going to strike, he would have done so. Kakashi is capable of providing Sasuke adequate protection, at this point in time," the Hokage explained patiently. A part of his mind wondered just how far Raito was going to go to protest this. Their mutual emotional attachments were a part of the reason he was letting her go. He didn't want to give the young Uchiha any ideas before he was ready.

"It would be logical if he was lying in wait, there's a possibility that he's waiting for the opportune moment to strike."

As his teacher, the Hokage had to acknowledge that there was a strong possibility that was exactly what his former student had been planning. It wasn't likely to happen now, though. If there was a reason for waiting any longer, the Hokage could not see it. The last three weeks would have been the opportune time to make a move, if he had been planning on doing it around this time. Naruto had been gone with Jiraiya, and last week Kakashi had gone on a mission far away enough that there wasn't a chance that he would not get back in time. The third Hokage doubted he would let three children that looked to be Genin stop him from getting his prize.

With Kakashi back, and still no sign of Orochimaru since the exams, it was time to let go of the extra protection.

"Both of the people that pose most of threatening people to his mission have been gone in the past week, there was no better time to take advantage of the situation," the Hokage argued, and then wondered why he was even bothering to do so. He was the one in charge here, if he said they were fired, they were fired.

How come it was never as simple as that?

Raito looked offended to the extreme. "We're not threatening?"

"You three are children, there's no question that you're not threatening," the Hokage replied.

Shihizuki, for all of his indifference, took slight offense to the Hokage's argument, even though it was clear that he by no means meant that they were harmless. "Two of these three 'children' are more the most skilled shinobi most people have come across, and are recognized as powerful by most Lands. Either Orochimaru is an idiot; in which case you've hired us out of pity, which is one of the greatest offences you can commit to someone of our status; or he doesn't want to risk alerting Sasuke to his intentions by failing. It's quite clear that if Orochimaru were to fail in his attempt to steal Sasuke, or whatever it is that he's planning, his entire plan will go down the drain. Given this, I think it's safe to say Sasuke is still in danger," Shihizuki finished.

The Hokage was not surprised in the slightest that he was regretting indulging the manipulative Raito. He should have known that her team would be just as skilled at getting their way.

"I know Orochimaru better than just about anyone, he's too arrogant to consider mere children a threat. Since I've already paid you for your services, this meeting is concluded. You three are dismissed." '_I'm just glad this kind of manipulative power hadn't been extended to Naruto...'_

Raito's nails dug into her palm in agitation. One of the few things that tried her patience above all else was adults not believing her because she happened to lack a few years of age. In this case, it was combined with the fact that she knew for a fact Orochimaru was planning something, that Sasuke was going to get hurt for it, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Haku knew that if he waited much longer, Raito was going to say or do something they would regret, so he bowed and led her out of the room by the hand. It was the only way to be sure she wasn't going to do anything stupid. By the time they got to the street, Raito was literally shaking with rage.

"There was nothing else we could do. He has no reason to suspect that we're going on anything other than intuition and logic. Next time, he'll be more inclined to believe us." Haku attempted to calm his partner down, but his words seemed to slip off her uselessly. It was nothing less than what he expected, but all the same, he knew that she would remember them later. It was all according to a pattern that had been long established.

"Next time, if he doesn't listen I'm going to beat the living daylights out of him until he does," Raito threatened. Haku considered it an extreme show of self control that she wasn't cursing like a sailer, he could clearly see the words on the tip of her tongue.

All the same, he couldn't help but smirk at the term. "As opposed to the dead ones?"

Raito couldn't help it. Like he knew she would, Raito smirked. Making fun of her odd phrasing always lightened her mood when she was angry. "Those too."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Before Raito even considered talking to anyone, they decided to pack. Somehow, this involved techno, every time. It was tradition. Shihizuki thought it was one of the oddest he had ever heard of, but the effect the music had on the general atmosphere was instantaneous. Soon the three of them were all in a good mood, and Raito was temporarily able to forget about Orochimaru, the Hokage, and her concern for Sasuke.

Even Shihizuki was able to lighten up and participate in the playful banter that Raito and Haku had started up.

"Work it harder, make it better, do it faster, makes us stronger..." The three of them had finished cleaning up, and at this point were trying to see who could get the furthest through the song. Shihizuki paused for breath, and promptly lost track.

It didn't help that they were trying to do it in the same pitch as the song, but that made it all the more amusing. Haku could safely say that he was never going to let Shihizuki live this down, because he, surprisingly enough, could get his voice that high.

Even Raito was impressed. Even she had trouble reaching some of those notes without warming up, and she was a chick.

"Bloody hell, Shihizuki, who taught you how to sing?" Raito asked once he had gained the appropriate amount of breath back.

The boy in question looked embarrassed. "My parents wanted to have a family band for a while... it was a pet project of theirs to see how high I could get my voice to go."

"I wonder..."

The expression on Raito's face as she said this was enough to let Shihizuki know that this could not possibly be a good idea. "No."

"Come on, don't tell me you've never wanted to know..."

"No. Whatever you're about to suggest, I'm not doing it," Shihizuki said firmly.

"You don't even know what it is yet," Raito protested.

At this point, Shihizuki could tell that Raito was about to go into ultra manipulative mode, so he did the appropriate thing.

He put his hands over his ears and said "I can't hear you," repeatedly.

"But what if..."

"Nope! Still can't hear you!"

"I just wanna..."

"Lalalalalalala!"

"I will get..."

"What's that? I can't quite hear what you're saying," he said in a louder voice, for effect.

"Ok, I can't say I didn't warn you." With that, Raito got up and headed for the door. A feeling very similar to the one someone feels right before they die swept over Shihizuki, and he knew that if Raito got out of that door, he would somehow die. His gut told him so.

Because he didn't have any blackmail that would actually work, Shihizuki grabbed her ankle before she could quite reach the door, making her fall over with a loud "thump". Despite this, Raito continued to reach for the door. When she came to the conclusion that it was still out of reach by about three feet, she started trying to crawl over.

She almost got there, before Shihizuki dug his feet into the carpet to prevent her from taking the both of them out into the hall. That alone was more embarrassment than he cared to go through.

Haku watched the whole thing with amusement.

"I don't know what you're trying to do, but I'm not going to let you do it."

"No!" Raito yelled slightly more quietly because she was inside a building when Shihizuki dragged her even further away from the door.

The last thing any of them were suspecting was for Naruto to open the door. Raito looked at him upside down, as she had been trying to pry Shihizuki's hand off her ankle with her other foot.

"Raito, what's..."

"Say it and die," Shihizuki warned. He didn't even want to hear what she had been planning on doing, much less anyone else. Raito's answering smirk confirmed his fears.

"I was just..."

"Raito..."

"...going to..." That was as far as she got. Shihizuki took her by surprise, and slid her across the floor close enough that he could put a hand over her mouth.

"Ow! You bit me!" he yelled in protest when Raito's teeth dug into his skin in protest.

"Nrow I di'n't, I jurst hurged yo' skrin wif my teef," she said through his hand.

Naruto wasn't quite sure what to make of the entire situation. Daft Punk was playing in the background, the house looked to be packed up, Shihizuki had his hand over Raito's mouth, and Haku was watching the entire thing with amusement.

"What's going on?"

"Actually, we were just going to find you," Haku said, which was unsurprising. Shihizuki and Raito were a bit preoccupied with trying to get free and preventing that from happening.

"You aren't going to leave again so soon, are you?" he asked, already knowing the answer to his question.

Raito finally got fed up and forced Shihizuki's hand off her mouth, or maybe it was a mutual decision. Naruto couldn't tell. "Sorry, but apparently our mission here is over. If your..."

Raito was cut off by a sharp jab in the ribs from Haku. "What she means is, we were going to ask you if you wanted to get dinner before we left," he finished with a sharp glare at Raito. "You know, as a 'until we meet again' type of thing."

"You were here on a mission?" Naruto asked. Haku glared at Raito again, certain that she was going to say something that shouldn't be said. Like explaining the details of the mission.

"Yeah, but now that it's over, we can't stay here anymore," Haku said.

"And when were you planning on telling me this?" said an annoyed Sasuke, who was standing in the door way. A part of him felt betrayed, in a way, that they weren't even going to say good bye to him.

"Huh, and here I thought it was going to take some blackmail, and maybe even some duct tape," Raito said.

Sasuke blushed the tiniest bit, which made Shihizuki smirk. The blush disappeared, to be replaced with a glare. Naruto looked between the two of them, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Say anything..." Sasuke warned.

"Hm..." Naruto mused, still trying to puzzle out what Shihizuki had on Sasuke. Whatever it was, it could be useful.

"Next person to try and start something isn't coming," Haku said quietly. The words had their effect though, Shihizuki and Sasuke stopped glaring at each other.

"It's a shame Father's already left town, otherwise I'd invite him too," Raito said. "But since he isn't, would you two be willing to endure a dinner that's sure to embarrass us all on at least some level?"

"Your father was in town?" Naruto asked, feeling a bit left out because he didn't get to meet him.

Raito was about to answer, when Shihizuki cut in before she could. "Yes," he replied.

That was all Raito needed to connect the dots. She wasn't sure who she wanted to beat the hell out of more, the Hokage or Shihizuki. The latter shrank back from her murderous glare.

"We _will_ be discussing this later," she informed him.

With this one, Naruto was pretty sure he didn't want to know. Even Haku looked a bit fearful. Well, at least one thing was clear. This promised to be an interesting dinner.

"Shihizuki, you _idiot_," Haku hissed in a tone that was quite similar to Sasuke's. Luckily, Raito didn't hear it. If she had, there would have been blood.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Raito, ramen is that way," Naruto said in an attempt to sway her decision. He had no such luck. She continued dragging them down the street, oblivious to the fact that Sasuke was dragging his feet. He was upset both because Raito had a firm grip on Shihizuki's wrist, and because he didn't believe that they were going to actually invite him along.

"I'm aware of this. There's a reason we're not going there, you'll see in a minute."

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this..." the orange ninja replied. "Sasuke, do you have any idea where we're going?"

"Patience, Naruto," Raito berated. "We're almost there."

Shihizuki paled even more than normal when he recognized a glowing sign. "No. Raito, this is cruel and unusual punishment. Tell me you aren't planning what I think you're planning."

Raito kept an iron grip on Shihizuki's wrist, despite his attempts to get away. "That would depend on what you think I'm planning, wouldn't it?"

"What are you planning?" Sasuke asked. He was kind of curious as to what would freak Shihizuki out so much. This kind of information could prove valuable in the future.

Raito's answering smirk confirmed his suspicions. "Revenge."

"Karaoke?" Naruto asked disbelievingly when he saw the sign.

"This can't be legal," Shihizuki muttered. "Even Ibiki wouldn't go this far."

"Raito, this isn't really a good idea..." Naruto said quietly. He sounded nervous, and suddenly the whole party stopped.

"What's the problem, loser? It's just bad singing."

The silence that ensued carried a certain amount of weight. Raito let go of Shihizuki and curled her hands into fists. Naruto looked at the ground.

"My sincerest apologies, I didn't even think of that," she said quietly. 'If it weren't for the fact that it would make Naruto uncomfortable, I would go in there and beat some sense into these people. Barring him like this is ridiculous...'

"It's ok, you guys can still go."

'Sometimes I really hate my job... I wish I could protect him more.' "Nah, it wouldn't be any fun without you anyway. Why don't we throw a party at our house? There's plenty of room now that everything's been cleared out," Haku suggested brightly.

"So self sacrificing! Clearly, you two are the picture of youth! Look, Lee! Take note of their consideration for their friend!"

"Yes, sensei!"

"Lee, Guy sensei, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"More importantly, Lee, what happened?" Haku asked concernedly. Seeing the cast that covered his leg and arm raised his alarm.

"The idiot tried to go against fate," Neji replied, stepping out from behind the two. Shihizuki narrowed his eyes. "Once a loser, always a loser."

"Shihizuki, stand down. If I'm not allowed to pick fights, no one is," Raito said angrily. Right now, what she really wanted to do was punch something, preferably the Hokage's face, but held back. It made sense that she expected the same of the people around her.

"And so help me, if anyone tries I'm going to smack you so hard, you'll all be knocked into next Tuesday. Now all of you are going to get into that building this instant and anyone who says otherwise is going to find themselves sleeping with the fishes. Got it?"

Needless to say, they all got into the building without a problem. An angry Raito is a scary thing, and not to be messed with. It was obvious from her expression that she wasn't bluffing. That same expression got them through the door though, without any questions, so there had to be some benefits to being able to strike fear into hearts just by looking at them.

Then Raito smiled, like none of that had ever happened. Lee wasn't quite convinced that Raito was human with that kind of behavior.

"Raito? What are you doing here?" Clare asked when she caught sight of her friend.

"I could ask you the same thing. Oh yeah, Chuunin exams, right? I almost forgot."

"Yeah, why'd you drop out?"

"Meh, I got bored. Hey, you should join us, this is our last night here."

"Ren, Yosuke, would it be ok if we joined my friend, Raito?" Clare asked in her cute, innocent voice. Of course, having known Clare for a while now, they saw right through it, but decided to play along anyway.

"Who?" a relatively normal looking boy asked, turning around on the stool he was sitting. The other boy that he was sitting next to, this one had black hair, didn't move. He was stirring his drink meditatively.

"Her," Clare said simply. She gestured to Raito.

"Raito, are you planning on join us today? This was your idea," Shihizuki asked.

Clare and her friends' jaws dropped in shock. At the sound of Shihizuki's voice, the boy sitting next to the brown haired kid turned around. "Shihizuki, I didn't think you'd bother to enter the exams."

Looking at the two of them was liking looking at a mirror reflection. Both of them looked exactly alike, with the exception of the streak of red coloring Shihizuki's bangs and his bright red eyes. Even their expressions were exactly the same, down to the set of their jaws. They clearly weren't happy to see each other.

Raito angled her body in a slightly protective stance, and Haku slipped to her other side upon picking up on her body language.

Someone seemed determined to ruin their evening, at all costs. "I take it you didn't tell your team about me?"

"Why would I tell my team about such an useless younger brother?"

"Ren, you never told us that you had a brother," Clare said, still unable to wrap her head around the concept that there were two Rens. No matter how she looked at it, there was no way this could be a good thing.

"Shihizuki is far from useless," Haku defended.

For once, Shihizuki was glad someone had his back. He knew there was no way he could beat his slightly older brother. "Come on, we have other people waiting for us," he said.

"It was nice running into you, Clare. Maybe we can catch up some other time," Haku said, before turning away. There was nothing to be gained from a confrontation here and now.

Somehow, despite everything that had already happened that night, they managed to get Shihizuki back into a good mood, and after Ren had gone, up on the stage, singing Katy Perry's "Hot 'n' Cold". It was pitch perfect, and for all of his embarrassment, it was easy to tell that he was having fun. Rock Lee and Might Guy sang "Thriller" by Micheal Jackson with no prodding, complete with the dance. Somehow they managed to convince Neji to sing, even. Since he had to be prodded so much, TenTen picked the song "Human" by The Killers. Even Neji had to smirk at the lyrics.

"'Are we human, or are we dancers?'"

Despite Naruto's insistence, Sasuke could not be convinced to get up on the stage, so Naruto was next. "Eye of the Tiger" was his song of choice. TenTen sang "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day, mostly because of its limited vocal range. The fighting message and upbeat rhythm didn't hurt either. Haku sang "21 Guns," also by Green Day.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. "You're the only one who hasn't sung anything yet," he accused. Sasuke narrowed his eyes right back. The only difference was, he didn't look ridiculously stupid doing it. Raito drew her hand across her neck in the universal "abort mission" sign.

Somehow, this seemed to encourage Sasuke's mischievous mood. Maybe it was because of this that he did exactly what she had just warned him not to do. "Humph, I'm not the only one, idiot. Raito hasn't either."

Naruto looked between the two of them, and got an idea. His lips spread into the most impish of grins. "You should do a duet."

Raito choked on her drink. "Have you taken leave of your senses?"

Raito might have been able to talk Naruto out of this idea, had Haku and Shihizuki not decided to get a little revenge of their own. "I agree. This place is going to close soon anyway, we probably don't have time for two more songs."

"Then I'll let Raito do the last song," Sasuke said, trying to get himself out of it. "It's the least I can do after you've invited me along," he finished mock politely.

If his polite attitude didn't give him away, the slightly malicious smile did. Naruto picked up on it instantly, oddly enough. So did Raito.

It was official in her mind, it was more important to get Sasuke up on the stage than to keep herself off of it. "Not at all, and Naruto's right." At this, Neji and Sasuke both almost spat out their drinks. Neither of them had expected Raito to turn the situation around like this, not to the extreme of saying Naruto was right. Guy sensei watched the entire thing with amusement. "It would be much easier if we just sang something together."

Before that moment, Might Guy never had the opportunity to watch Raito's skills of manipulation at work. Of course, he completely missed Haku giving Naruto the idea while he and Lee were singing "Thriller".  
Thoroughly backed into a corner, Sasuke had no choice but to go along with the idea. He sighed, but gave no other sign of discontentment.

When Haku had originally thought of the idea, had thought that they would pick some kind of love song. As much as he didn't care for the idea of Sasuke dating Raito, he was of the opinion that she needed to learn that it was good to care about other people. In no way did he agree that refusing to love other people would benefit her, even though she refused to listen to anything else.

Having said that, Haku still felt that Raito needed to be protected. If anyone even thought about hurting her, he would hurt them, probably beyond repair. When it came to the people he cared about, there was nothing he wouldn't do for them. That had always been true of him, and probably always would be.

Besides, she looked like she was having fun singing "Scared" by Three Days Grace with Sasuke. Shihizuki seemed to share his opinion of reluctant approval, though why he wasn't entirely certain.

On their way out, Neji stopped to the point of getting all of their attention. "This evening never happened, and is never to be referred to again."

TenTen, Sasuke, Shihizuki, Haku, and Raito each nodded their approval of this motion, then looked at Naruto, Might Guy, and Lee when they didn't.

"This evening was most youthful, young Neji. I believe we should make it a practice to do this more often!"

"Yes, sensei!" Lee agreed.

Shihizuki used his intimidation skills to their utmost effect. "This evening never happened, and will never be spoken of," he reiterated in a tone that left the threats unsaid, but there all the same.

The three that were in opposition to this motion reluctantly nodded. Having reached an agreement, they parted ways. It didn't escape Might Guy's notice that Raito and Sasuke were walking as far away from each other as was possible.

"It's a shame you guys are leaving tomorrow, that was really fun," Naruto said.

"It's not like we're never going to see each other again," Haku replied. "It just probably won't be for a while."

"You guys should stay in Konoha, I'm sure the Hokage wouldn't mind."

"Sorry, but we've already made arrangements to leave," Haku said. 'Yes, the Hokage would definitely mind if we stayed here...'

"Where?" Sasuke asked.

"Suna." Haku didn't see any real reaction on Sasuke's face, but Naruto frowned.

"That's really far away." There was a distinctive whine in his tone, but it went unnoticed or ignored. They had reached his apartment building already.

"Good night, Naruto," Raito called while he walked up the steps.

"Night guys," he replied cheerily.

"Good night, Naruto," Haku called before the orange dressed boy disappeared into the building.

"What's the real reason you're leaving?" was the first thing Sasuke said as soon as his blond team mate was out of ear shot.

"That's it," Haku answered. He didn't miss the fact that Raito tensed up at the topic. "The Hokage has decided that our services are no longer needed, so we're done here."

Sasuke could have sworn her heard Raito mutter "bloody idiot," but dismissed it as imagination. She was nothing but polite to people that outranked her. It was a bit infuriating, actually.

"So you three weren't needed after all."

"We've saved your life three times since we were hired," Shihizuki corrected.

"Humph, I never saw anything."

"That means that we're still doing our job up to standard." A warm gust of evening air jostled Haku's hair. "We make a point of doing things out of sight, there's no need to make a commotion when we don't have to."

Of course, there would have been even less commotion had Haku been able to wear his hunter nin mask, but Raito had strictly forbidden that while they were in Hidden Leaf. There was no need to alert Team 7 to the fact they had been there during the original confrontation with Zabuza. During these kinds of missions, it was important that they had the trust of the people they were protecting, and suspicions on Sasuke's part wouldn't help anything.

His annoyance went completely unnoticed by the girl he was trying to communicate it to, she was too lost in thought. 'Probably trying to get Sasuke out of harm's way without compromising anything...'

"So that's what was distracting Kakashi sensei. I didn't think much of it because one of you was already there when that happened." Sasuke's tone implied that he was berating himself for not paying enough attention, not that Shihizuki particularly cared. If he felt bad about it, he was more likely to remedy the behavior in the future.

"Of course, if the enemy sent someone in to distract us it would have worked if everyone went in to help the fight. If they sent the less powerful of the group to distract us, there would be a chance that the most powerful of us would have gone to stop it, leaving you more significantly more vulnerable than you had been previously." He paused. "All it takes is one poison tipped kunai to kill someone."

"I know that. I'm not stupid, and I can take care of myself. The Hokage didn't need to even bother hiring you guys, I'm sure Kakashi and I could have taken care of it."

'It's that kind of attitude that's going to get you killed...' "Don't be delusional, it's far more likely to get you killed. Kakashi might have been able to fend them off, but you'd just get in the way," Raito said, even though she didn't really intend to join the conversation.

Sasuke glared scathingly at her. "I'm perfectly capable of holding my own, and I don't get in the way," he bit back.

"Really? Could have fooled me," she replied.

"Better than relying on your team to do everything for you." Sasuke tried going for a different line of attack, intent on putting her on the defensive.

"Not that you could claim that, it seems like Naruto does most of the work while you insult him."

Sasuke bristled at the insult. "The idiot consistently does things that are stupid, and I always do more work than he does."

"Such loyalty to your team, no wonder you're stuck doing little missions."

At the same time, Haku smacked the back of Raito's head and Shihizuki did the same to Sasuke.

"Grow up, you two are acting like little kids, exchanging petty insults," Shihizuki said.

Raito's expression went back to neutral at the interference, perhaps a little sad even. It was the same one she always got when someone told her that she still needed to grow up or that she was too young to be who she was. In Haku's mind, it didn't really make sense, everything else about Raito pointed to she would react angrily, but there was none of it. He supposed it had something to do with her past, one of those things that she refused to tell him about.

Sasuke didn't look pleased at the insult, but didn't say anything. He wasn't quite sure why they were all reacting like this, but couldn't ask, either. He doubted they would tell him anything anyway.

The rest of the walk was spent in silence, and it was some time before Sasuke could get to sleep.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Not one person of the Hidden Mist Village currently visiting Suna was surprised when they heard about the attack on Konoha, nor were they surprised when they heard that Orochimaru had played a part in it. They didn't hear about it until after they had reached Suna, as they were walking instead of moving in a hurry, which was kind of lucky because being involved in such an attack would not have been in their best interests.

Raito bowed formally when she entered the Kazekage's office, wanting to make a good impression on the new Kazekage.  
If she was surprised to see Gaara was the one under the hat, she didn't betray it. "As I'm sure you're already aware, we are here to assist the Village Hidden in the Sand in any way the Kazekage deems fit," she explained in the event that he had not been informed.

"Congratulations on assuming the role of Kazekage, we are at your service."

"You three aren't even Chuunin, I don't require your skills," he replied. He did not forget that they had dropped out from the exam. "You may tell the Mizukage that."

"I assume you haven't been informed, then. Because of arrangements made by our former... manager," was the best way she could describe it, "we have learned from many villages, and have a very expansive collection of jutsu ability at our disposal. In return, we owe the villages that have been so kind as to share their knowledge, and to repay some of that debt we do missions for them."

"Hm. If that's the case, participating in the Chuunin exams seems counter productive."  
Raito nodded in agreement. "The purpose of our presence was not for our own benefit, but rather protection detail for one of the participants."

"Unfortunately, we were pulled off the mission before the attack on Konoha," Haku added, not wanting to give the impression that they were unable to do their job.

"Have you spoken to the Hokage about retaliation?"

"No, a new Hokage had yet to be appointed when we left, though the Sage Jiraiya and Naruto were leaving to find Lady Tsunade with the intent to make her the new Hokage."

"I see. As for your mission, two dangerous criminals by the names of Rokuro Hideaki and Takeshi Shin have recently become a nuisance. I want their capture, dead or alive."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

It didn't take long for them to find the hideout, and then a gas bomb knocked all of them out at once without any of their team being spotted, there was no chance for retaliation. Raito and Shihizuki picked up the guys they had been sent in to capture, and rendered them immobile so there would be no chance of their escape. Haku stood watch in case someone from their group was in charge of guarding the base, but it seemed that these were rather low ranking criminals as there was no one.

They were dropped off at the jail with no fuss, and went back to the Kazekage's office after getting some ice cream.

"That was rather boring," Shihizuki pointed out. "We didn't even get to fight anybody."

"We're ninja, we're stealthy creatures of the night that hide under the cover of shadow and attack when our enemies are least suspecting it, taking them out before they even get the chance to see what hit them, literally. I admit that A ranked missions are more fun, but that went perfectly. I'm quite satisfied with our work." Raito took a bite of ice cream after she was done speaking. "Besides, the sooner we get something done, the sooner we get paid."

"'Stealthy creatures of the night'? What are you, some author of a horror novel?" Shihizuki teased.

"That wasn't the point," Raito muttered to her ice cream.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Shukaku hissed and recoiled, and Gaara pressed a hand to his face, trying to get his demon under control.

"Shihizuki, what's going on?" Raito asked. They were reporting that the mission was a success when this started.

"His demon really doesn't like me," the red eyed boy replied. "I think it might actually be afraid of me."

"What are you doing to him?" Kankuro demanded. Normally, he and Temari both watched out for Gaara, but she had other things she had to do. "And how do you know about his demon?"

"I'm not doing anything," Shihizuki replied. He switched his gaze from Gaara to Kankuro, who was glaring steadily at him. He didn't fail to notice that the bundle that usually rested on his back was now under his hand, ready for use. Gaara calmed down a little bit, enough to glare at Shihizuki.

"What did you do?"

"I told you, I didn't do anything. I don't know why Shukaku is acting this way."

'_Tell him to look at us.'_

"What?" Gaara replied, bringing focus back to him. Shihizuki was careful to avoid his gaze.

'_Tell demon boy to look at us, I want to talk to him,'_ Shukaku demanded.

"Shihizuki," Gaara said, and the black haired boy looked at him.

'_When?'_

"Why should I tell you that?"

"You're forgetting that I'm Kazekage. I demand that you tell me what's going on, right now."

Shukaku laughed. '_Your stupid human rules are useful for once. We'll kill you if you don't tell me when.'_

"You're afraid," Shihizuki replied easily. Shukaku didn't respond, instead he swished his tail angrily.

'_I know no fear.'_

"Then there is no need for this conversation. Time is meaningless to someone like you, at least in this regard, and you know the rules."

"What rules are you talking about?"

'_Demon boy, tell me, or I'll paint the walls with your blood.'_

"9, 7,28, 5,37."

'_Soon... I didn't expect it to be so soon...'_

"Tell me something in return, where can I find death?"

'_...'_

Shihizuki sighed and broke eye contact. "Well that was completely useless..."

"What were you even talking about?" Gaara asked, less than pleased that he had been ignored throughout the entire conversation.

"Gaara, you're not hurt, are you?" Kankuro asked out of concern for his little brother.

"I'm fine, but I do want some answers." He looked at the three, most of all Shihizuki.

"Well, as you can guess, I just talked to Shukaku. In essence, he wanted to know when he was going to die. I told him." He explained only the bare essentials on purpose, being pushed into explaining wasn't something he particularly enjoyed.

Gaara nodded. "You three are dismissed."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"That was interesting," Haku remarked on their way to get some lunch.

"No kidding. I almost forgot he was a jinchuiriki," Raito said, and then started walking away, like she suddenly remembered something.

"Raito, where are you going?"

"There are a few things I need to be check, I'll find you guys later."

Raito started walking away, to do whatever it was she decided needed doing. Shihizuki decided he didn't even want to know.

Haku nodded. "Let's eat, I'm hungry."

"Haku?" a distinctly female voice, making both boys turn around to see Clare along with her team coming towards them. "Are you stalking us?"

Shihizuki nodded acknowledgement to Ren, but said nothing to the slightly older boy. The other did smirked a bit. "Going from village to village because you're having trouble holding down a job?"

"Nope, we just decided we wanted to travel for a while," Haku said pleasantly. "I didn't expect to see you guys here though. Shihizuki and I were just going to get some lunch, do you want to come with us?"

"That sounds like fun, and there's a really good place nearby. Let's go," Clare suggested.

Haku looked at Shihizuki, who saw the expression on his face and caved. "I guess it wouldn't be too bad..."

Ren sighed. "If you must, grab your girlfriend and let's go."

"Excuse me?" Haku asked, very much offended.

"Ren," Yosuke said in a disapproving tone. He was getting tired of Ren constantly trying to pick fights with his brother.

Ren, because he was Ren, didn't heed the warning. "It's obvious that you're a chick, and you two are going on a date. Need I say more?"

Haku punched him. Hard. This guy was really beginning to tick him off, which was quite the achievement. "I'm not a chick. Get that through your over sized head."

Ren stumbled back from the force, and glared at Haku, getting ready to get him back. He never got the chance, Clare slapped his upside the head. "If you're done trying to pick fights with friends, I'm hungry. If you can't behave, you can go home."

Ren grumbled about it, but didn't try to start anything again. It might have been because of the look Clare gave him. The rest of the afternoon went without further incident, Clare and Yosuke showed them around Suna while Ren sulked. The one time he was about to say something, Clare gave him another look and he thought better of it. Shihizuki decided that he liked Ren a lot better when he was silent.

It wasn't until nightfall that they finally said goodbye, with plans to meet up again tomorrow. Clare and Yosuke left with the full intentions of beating the story as to why Ren hated his twin so much out of him. Ren was a pain, that had been long established, but normally he wasn't this difficult to deal with.

It wasn't like she expected him to be best friends with his brother or anything, but the kind of hostility that he was showing, mixed with Shihizuki's reactions, made it apparent that this was not for any real particular reason other than he thought himself better than his slightly younger brother. That was one thing that Clare didn't appreciate, but there wasn't much she could do about it. It was just one of those things that they were going to have to work out themselves.

That didn't mean she didn't fully expect an explanation though. Clare patiently waited for Ren to start talking.

"Shihizuki is the reason I'm here in Suna. Our parents didn't want to keep two kids, so they chose between us. They wanted me instead of him, so he was put up for adoption, then left Mizukagure because they felt bad. He's the reason their so depressed, they never got over it, but didn't take him back. By then he had already been adopted, so they couldn't adopt him. A few years back, they decided that it would be a good idea for us to meet, but as you can guess, that didn't go too well, so now we ate each other, even if he's more passive aggressive about it," Ren explained.

"There's still no need to pick on him like that," Yosuke decided. "It looks bad if we start things, wait for him to say something first."

Ren didn't apologize, but he did nod, which was enough for Clare and Yosuke. They didn't expect him to, it was Ren. If he actually said he was sorry, they knew Armageddon was upon them.

A loud explosion interrupted the silence that had settled comfortably, and without waiting, all three of them jumped to their feet and out the door. A large, white bird that was most certainly not native to this region was circling the village, and very faintly they could make out white things that rather resembled bug falling from it.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Clare's team quickly spotted Gaara, standing on a roof that wasn't too far away, and immediately made their way over. On the way, Shihizuki and Haku joined them.

"You have any idea what's going on?" Haku asked Clare.

"Not a clue. Where's Raito?"

"Excellent question, but if she's not already fighting, she'll join us shortly. What are your team's strengths?"

"Why? Ok, that one is obvious, but Gaara's going to be the one directing the counter attack," Yosuke said "Either him, or Kankuro."

"Yosuke is good with Earth jutsu's, and Ren specializes with genjutsus. I'm good with water based," Clare replied, ignoring Yosuke. Of course, she fully intended to talk to Gaara or Kankuro before doing something if it was Haku or Shihizuki making plans. She trusted

Raito's judgement, but that was only because she had worked with the girl personally.

When they got to the roof, Raito was already arguing with Kankuro. She stopped abruptly when she saw the others had arrived.

"Clare, are you willing to coordinate with my team to help?" Raito asked.

She nodded, and Kankuro looked put out. "Fine, take my job without Gaara's permission then, he's going to be pissed when he finds out."

"Ok, hun, we're loyal to this village too. If you're not going to listen to me without complaint, you're more of a liability than an asset. Which is it going to be?"

"I'll help, I'm just not happy about it."

"Good. Clare, I want you and Haku to coordinate a diversion. Clare, if you can make it rain, Haku can turn it into ice senbon. Keep this in mind." The two nodded, and darted off. "Ren, Shihizuki, Kankuro, these people work in teams, there's probably another one around here somewhere, your job is to neutralize him. As soon as they are available, I'll send in reinforcements."

Ren and Shihizuki scowled at each other, but left with Kankuro. Both of them understood that this was not the time for arguing, even if it was tempting.

"What do you want me to do?" Yosuke asked.

"You're with me, we're going to provide Gaara cover as best we can."

Raito didn't mention that she was also going to try and coordinate between the five different parties to the best of her abilities. In order to be the most effective, they were going to somehow be able to predict what Gaara and Haku's makeshift team were going to do, and direct their attacks accordingly. Besides that, someone had to stay behind for when Suna's militia was _finally_ getting a move on.

A wave of water barely caught the edge of the bird's tale, but before Haku's ice could take effect, that piece melted off. The blond who they were fighting noticed that something was off, and turned his back for half a second to see what was going on. Raito saw his mouth move in a curse, buying Gaara enough time for his sand to reach for one of the bird's claws without being dodged.

An explosion went off near Gaara, somewhere during the fight the blond had been able to send one of his birds close enough to cause damage. In the same moment, the bird's claw shrunk, allowing it to get free from the sand long enough for them to get out of reach.

During this, the blond wasn't paying attention to what building he was going past, and Haku jumped on the bird and aimed a kick at the imposter's face. It was dodged and grabbed, but Haku used that as leverage to spin the other one to land a hit to the face. Water, formed by the barely existent precipitation in the air melted off the tip of a wing. The bird wobbled before regaining balance, and Gaara took the advantage to latch on to the blond.

Bloody rain spattered the street and buildings below, and the attacker howled with pain when he lost his arm. Wasting no time, without warning he tipped the bird. Haku was barely able to freeze the wave of water Clare drew up to break his fall. The blond took the moment to send down an explosive, and Haku went still. Raito saw Clare hop up on the ledge, and check his pulse. Infinite relief flooded her when Clare gave her a thumbs up, but she could tell that the other girl had exhausted her chakra supply.

The feeling of dread came back when Kankuro and Ren came back. There wasn't a scratch on them.

"What happened?" she demanded, never taking her eyes off the fight going on in the air.

"You were right, there was another one. He, it, took Shihizuki," Ren informed her.

"It also took apart my puppets, claiming that it made them," Kankuro added. "What's going on here?"

"Haku and Clare are unable to fight, but our opponent seems to be running low on what looks to be clay. He's also missing one of his arms, and we've unbalanced his bird, though he seems to have made up for that by now. Are you two good on chakra?"

Both of them nodded, which was a good thing. "What now?" Ren asked.

"Both of you should try to evacuate the city as much as you can. If nothing else works, that bird is big enough to take out the entire city."

At long last, Baku arrived with the militia. Instead of cussing them out, like she wanted to, Raito took in all that they had at their disposal with a trained eye.

"Where's Kankuro?" Baku asked, immediately questioning her authority.

Raito ignored it. "Get as many people as you can spare to evacuate the city, and anyone who can use water jutsu aiming for the bird he's standing on," she ordered. "If we can damage it any more, Gaara will be able to completely take him out."

"Where's Kankuro?" he asked again, ignoring her orders. "You aren't someone in authority."

"He's evacuating the city, along with Ren," she replied. "He put me in charge."

"I'm going to need proof," he said. "For all we know, you could be a spy, trying to sabotage us."

"There isn't time for that..." the rest of her words were drowned out by a large explosion, nearby. Raito looked up to see the night sky covered by a massive amount of sand. The next explosion was much more muffled, but they could see through the crumbling wall that it was even more effective. "Hold your fire, they have Gaara. Look for yourself if you don't believe me," she said pointing at the small bundle wrapped in the "tail feathers" of the bird. Both sleeves of the enemy hung empty, at least.

Raito started swearing up and down like a sailor.

"We should organize a party to go after Gaara," Ren suggested. Raito seemed incapable of saying anything other than profanities, some of which made him blush a little, but someone needed to state the obvious if they weren't moving already.

They were too busy watching Raito swear though, her vocabulary was rather impressive, and in between they thought they could catch phrases relating to what she was planning.

After about two minutes, she calmed down enough to think rationally. "Baku, do you have a team prepared to go after Gaara in the event that he was captured? Because so help me, if you don't..." she began to threaten.

Baku nodded, and four of the sand nins came forward. Raito nodded her approval. "Ren, Kankuro, I want you to come with me, as well. You, you get the people back in the city. If there's a mass panic, it won't help anything, so get people started on repairs. Assure them that we're getting the Kazekage back."

At her words, Baku's people began moving. Raito was glad for their compliance, and made a mental note to tell Gaara that their organizational skills needed work. It shouldn't have taken this long for them to be ready in the first place. She gestured for Kankuro to lead, and the eight nins went after their Kazekage.

Raito was beyond glad to have Yosuke there when one of the nins that Baku had sent with them set off a paper bomb trap that was actually quite elaborate. The nin that had set off the trap died, and one other was badly hurt by the falling rock, but Yosuke managed to stop the rocks before anyone else was rendered incapable of fighting. However, Raito's leg and Ren's side were both badly hurt getting the other two nins whose names they didn't know out of the way. It was unfortunate, but better than a fatality.

Ren was pretty sure one of his ribs had been cracked, but didn't say anything. He felt that the well being of the Kazekage was more important, and had every intention of fighting until either Gaara was returned or he died.

Both Yosuke and Kankuro pointed to the correct trail of the many Sasori had left at the same time, and wordlessly their group of four followed. All four of the nins Baku had assigned to them had been sent back to help their injured not set off any more traps. Besides that, Kankuro and Ren knew that they wouldn't stand a chance against Sasori and the blond together.

The chances were slim for their own hastily cobbled together team. Raito was banking on back up arriving quickly.

Of course, that went away as soon as she saw that Shihizuki was also unconscious and on the blond's bird thing. At least it was still wobbling. The short lumpy thing in a similar coat was her real concern, now. At least she knew the blond was almost out of juice, it was still completely unaffected, as far as they knew.

Her lips twisted into a snarl and she drew Zabuza's sword. By now, the weight felt comfortable in her hand.

"Give them back," she demanded. She pointed the sword threateningly at the two boys that were blissfully unaware of what was going on.

"Deidara, you go on ahead, I'll take care of this," Sasori said. Deidara got on the bird.

Raito shrugged. "I'm going to attempt to cut off the end of that bird's tail, you three should distract Sasori when I give the word."

"You know what they say, finders keepers, losers weepers," Deidara said, and the bird wobbled a bit before getting ready to take off.

All four of them moved at once, but a metal tail shot out of Sasori and knocked them back. Raito could feel the tale tell signs of poison in her veins, but that wasn't going to be a problem for her or Kankuro. Both of them had been exposed enough times that they had developed immunity, but Ren and Yosuke probably hadn't.

At least she had taken off a decent chunk of it with Zabuza's sword. '_What is Sasori? I've never seen someone who could do that before...' _She picked up Head Cleaver and did her best to ignore the effects of the poison. She saw Kankuro begin to stand as well, and he nodded.

Raito ran forward, using the sword to block his attacks. She only had a short time before getting them medical attention would be first priority. Another clip to the cheek, a cut on her calf, moving was getting harder. She was forced to jump back, out of range.

Several pieces of fabric fell away, as well as a few parts. She had done damage, but not enough to really _do_ anything. At best she had pissed him off.

She didn't have time to regroup and try again. She put a hand to her damaged torso. "Next time you won't get away so easily," she vowed as she picked up Ren. Kankuro got the point and picked up Yosuke.

Sasori nodded, and started walking away. He had kept Deidara waiting as it was, and a small part of him was glad that she had recognized the situation for what it was. He doubted the Kazekage's brother would do as much, the boy seemed rash.

"She did a number on you, hn," Deidara said when he saw the scraps haphazardly hanging of his partner.

"Not really, it's just superficial," Sasori answered honestly.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Haku knocked on the door to Kankuro's workshop, and waited patiently.

"Who is it?" came the irritable reply.

"Haku, there are some things I'd like to discuss with you about Shihizuki's and Gaara's situation."

"Come in."

Kankuro really didn't want to deal with this right now, he wanted to get his puppets put back together and show Sasori who was really more powerful. Unfortunately, he didn't really have that luxury. All day people had been pestering him, and he had thought that he had finally dealt with all that he had to.

Couldn't Raito and Haku take care of themselves?

"Do you intend to go after Gaara and Shihizuki?" Haku asked, giving all of his attention to Kankuro.

It was a bit unsettling, those usually sparkly brown eyes had gone flat, and angry, and now they were focused solely on Kankuro. "Of course." Kankuro made it sound like it was the obvious answer.

"Raito and I are coming with you," Haku said matter of factly.

Kankuro couldn't really argue with that. Shihizuki was a part of their team, he was kind of surprised they hadn't left already. "And?"

"We wanted to know if you have a team already assembled. If not, we're prepared to call in a few favors."

"We don't need extra help, team 7, minus Kakashi, has already volunteered to help us."

'_What hapened to Kakashi?'_ "When will they be arriving?"

"Any day now," Kankuro answered. He screwed in a piece of his puppet. The poor thing just looked so mangled... "We just need to wait."

"Ok. Raito and I are leaving tonight, we'd appreciate it if you would page us when you're ready to join the search." Haku scribbled down a number and handed it to Kankuro. "We can find them even faster if we work together." He smiled brightly.

The other boy tested a joint, then nodded. He frowned even more when it didn't move properly, and Haku left the room.

XXXXXXXXXX

Raito was pacing the room. She had been doing so for the last fifteen minutes. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't will the phone into submission. It remained silent.

In the background, rain assaulted the ground with more aggression than was really necessary. The Village Hidden in the Mist was looking quite that day.

"They'll call when they call, glaring at the phone won't help it go any faster," Haku pointed out. He blew on his nails, which were now painted a dark green, almost black.

"They better if they know what's good for them."

"Hey, after we get Shibuki back, we should be pirates again. That was fun."

Raito nearly jumped when the phone rang. "Hello. If you're a telemarketer, you've got five seconds before I hang up the phone and come to kill you. Don't doubt the fact that I know where you live."

"Would it kill you to be a little nicer to civilians?"

Raito covered one end of the phone. "Possibly."

"_This is Firefly?"_

"Yep. You found them?"

"_No, unfortunately... wait a minute, straw hats with bells, black coats with red clouds? Uh, I think that guy might be... blue?"_

"Tell Kisame that his mother is on the line. Then leave."

"_O-ok... hey! Kisame, right? Your mom wants to talk to you." _There was silence while Kisame replied. Raito could have sworn she heard growling.

"_Mom?"_

Raito held the phone away from her and did her best not to laugh. When she was sufficiently calmed down, she lifted her hand. "I'm sorry, I just had to get your attention. Don't hang up, please. I just want to know what's going on, you did steal my team mate, after all."

"_Itachi is laughing at me._ Itachi _is actually laughing. I don't have to tell you anything. In fact, I think I should skip straight to killing you."_

"Tell me, and I'll help you get him back, or something. I'm sure Sasuke has some interesting stories to share."

"_You hear that, Itachi? She's friends with your little brother."_

"_Put him on the phone." _Itachi sounded almost mad. Raito made a mental note.

"Sorry, he's not here right now. I'll take a message if you tell me about Shihizuki."

There was some silence. "_He's joined our organization, of his own will. You owe me for this, don't think I won't forget it." _Kisame was back on the line.

"Have him call me, then. One more thing, Gaara?"

"_Not sure. Deidara didn't say anything about that when he checked in, and he hasn't gotten back yet. There was something about rebuilding a restaurant he destroyed..."_

"Ok, thanks."

The line went dead with a click. Raito placed the phone back on the receiver with a very self satisfied smirk.

"You blackmailed them." Haku twiddled a senbon between his fingers.

"N- yes. I did find out about Shihizuki though, apparently he's joined them. If we get a call confirming this, then we can leave the Akatsuki alone. I think we should give them a week."

"Agreed. And Gaara?"

"That's an excellent question. No idea. Sasori and Deidara got side tracked, apparently..."

"When pretty much all of Suna is looking for them?" Haku's brown eyes blinked in surprise.

Raito shrugged. "It's the Akatsuki, I doubt they care."

"So we tell Kankuro and Co. what, exactly?

"That's an excellent question, I will-"

Raito was cut off when the phone rang. She made a frustrated noise, then picked it up.

"What!"

"Firefly, we have a problem."

"What's going on? I'm kind of in the middle of something."

"There's someone claiming that they've killed you in an attempt to scare Hidden Sand."

"Shit. What's Baku doing about it?"

"There's not much that he can do, this guy is good."

Raito sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "How good?" she breathed heavily.

"Extremely. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was you. It isn't you, right?"

"No," she sighed. "I'd tell you about something like that before just diving in. I'll need to make a personal appearance, won't I?"

"Most likely. Hey, I heard that you were looking into the Akatsuki..."

"I'll talk to you later," Raito said adruptly, and then hung up the phone. She ran her fingers through her hair.

"What's going on?"

"We have a dilemma. There's a more personal matter going down in Suna, but we also need to get Gaara back. The two situations are, for all intents and purposes, mutually exclusive."

"You'll have to be more specific," Haku pointed out. He put his elbows on his knees and leaned forward.

"Someone is saying that I've died, and is claiming that they're the one that killed me. It's a worthwhile plan, except for the fact that I'm not dead. Obviously, we're going to need to set the record straight, Firefly is very much alive." She paused for breath. "Normally, I'd have someone take care of this for me, as Gaara is rather important, but none of my people can do it. This is going to require a personal appearance."

"It'll have to wait then, we need to get the Kazekage back."

"Haku, this isn't something we can just ignore for who knows how long," she argued.

"Are you saying that we should just let the others take care of it then?" Haku asked skeptically. "Do you really want them dead that badly?"

"No, but they'll have to be fine without us. This isn't exactly something we can ignore, and it's not like we could do much to help anyway."

"You're forgetting the part where we've dealt with these people before, and I'm assuming the majority of them have not."

"What are you suggesting, then? That we just ignore the situation in Suna?"

"For the time being, yes."

There was silence. Neither one of them refused to back down. Then, "I think the best thing, in that case, would be for us to split up."

"I'll pose as Firefly, you pay a visit to the Akatsuki?"

Raito crossed her arms. That was probably the best match for their skill sets; Raito was good at talking, Haku was the better fighter; but she didn't like the idea of anyone else playing Firefly. All the same, there wasn't really a choice here. "I'll keep you updated as to where I'm at."

"I'll let you know if anything happens."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Raito! You're back!"

Naruto had been the first to notice her, but now that he had said something, Sakura, and Sasuke noticed her presence.

"Kind of. I'm here to help with the whole Gaara Akatsuki thing. What do you guys have so far?"

Sakura crossed her arms. "No one ever told us that you were coming too."

Raito shrugged. "It doesn't change the fact that I'm coming anyway. Haku would come, but he's got something else that he's got to do. So, did you guys uncover any information since the fight?"

"They're headed North," Sasuke provided. "Beyond that, we don't have any information."

"Do you have any further information?" Sakura asked shrewdly.

"Nope," Raito answered honestly. The whereabouts of Itachi and Kisame really had no bearings on where Gaara and Shihizuki might be. "I just know that they're not in Hidden Mist Village."

"That's a start," Sakura sighed. "Orientation was yesterday, but pretty much all we learned was that no one knows where they are. We're supposed to keep an eye out for Amekagure."

"Probably because it's the smallest country," Sasuke said under his breath. "We should get going, though. Since we weren't expecting you to show up, that's what we were doing. The other team left yesterday."

"The only reason we haven't already is because Naruto held us up," Sakura added with some contempt.

Naruto looked at Raito, "I had to show Konohamaru how to build a proper kite! His were pathetic!"

"It worked out in our favor anyway, but if you guys are ready to go, we should leave. I doubt the Akatsuki are going anywhere, but the sooner we get Gaara back, the better."

Sakura cleared her throat. "I think you should know something. The Hokage put me in charge of this mission, since Kakashi is busy doing something else."

Raito made a noise that sounded amazingly like laughter disguised rather badly in response. "My apologies, then. Unfortunately, that only applies to Konohakagure, and outside of this town, I outrank you by a considerable margin. In light of this information, I think it would be safe to say that you lead this mission until we reach the border."

"The Hokage said Sakura was in charge though," Naruto protested. "You can't just take her job."

Raito was silent while she thought it over. "I'll make you a deal, then. If you don't do anything amazingly stupid, I won't take over this mission. Agreed?"

"You wouldn't be able to take it over." Despite her words, Sakura shook the other girl's hand anyway.

XXXXXXXXXX

Shihizuki was not actually having a bad time with the Akatsuki. Of course, they hadn't trusted him enough to let him actually do anything yet, but by now they had mostly gotten used to his presence. Shukaku, on the other hand, was different. Both he and Gaara were considering him a traitor. Somehow, it didn't bother him that they were going to strip him of his jinchuiricki, which was pacing rapidly within the confines of Gaara's mind.

"_Don't you have something better to do, someone else to betray?" _it demanded angrily, trying to guilt trip him. After all, he was still in the room, that had to account for something, right?

"No, not really." '_It just gets boring having no one to talk to sometimes... I guess I could go find Deidara and Sasori...'_

Shukaku hissed at him, but Shihizuki ignored it in favor of watching the door swing open. Konan stood there, and gestured for him to leave the room. He guessed that they were going to do whatever it was they did to people to strip them of their jinchuirikis, Gaara's first timer had run out almost. At least, unlike most people, he had a backup.

He went to go find Deidara, it was interesting to listen to him argue with Sasori.

"Shihizuki, are you ready, hn?"

"Ready for what?" He fell in step with the other two, and schooled his expression easily into nonchalance.

"Your little friends are here, looking for us, hn. We're going to give them something to find."

XXXXXXXXXX

Raito was about ready to punch someone. Someone preferably who went by the name of Sasuke, had black hair, and oh yeah, was terminally stupid. When she saw him next, she was going to literally beat some sense into him, even if it killed him.

God damn him, what the hell had he been thinking? Running off to god knows where in the middle of a mission, never mind the fact that they were most likely not going to find the Akatsuki. It was the principal of the thing.

She cursed his name ten thousand ways to hell when they found Sasori, who was fighting some old woman. At least Shihizuki had told them where he was going, but Sasuke couldn't be bothered to do that. No, not when it was "that secretive thing he had to do".

Which meant it had Itachi involved. Raito guessed that had something to do with it, and she was half tempted to have Itachi be the one to drag him back home.

"You two, go find Clare and Ren and Yosuke," she ordered, much like she had done with Baku.

"But I'm the one in charge, and we should all work together to defeat..." Sakura began.

"Sakura, choose your battles for once. Which is more important, Gaara or this woman who I'm going to help right now? Find Clare, if I'm not done by then, by all means, I'll let you have at him."

"But..."

"Don't make me _make_ you leave." Raito had no patience to listen to all of Sakura's speech right now. "Because so help me, I'll kick your ass so hard it'll knock you all the way to next Tuesday."

Somehow, Sakura caught that Raito was completely serious. She and Naruto darted away, and Raito hopped into the pit the two had created during their battle. She nodded to the older woman, and drew her, Zabuza's, sword. The ridiculously large thing glinted in the sunlight.

"You again, and your ridiculous weapon." Sasori's own tail like metallic weapon slid out like a scorpion tail. Drops of purple beaded up at its end. "Where's your purple faced friend?"

Raito watched it, not quite trusting it not to strike before their little banter was over. "I wouldn't know, where's your blonde friend?"

"You know my grandson?" the woman asked.

"We've met once before." Sasori's tail clicked as it retracted. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. You kidnapped the Kazekage, but more importantly, my team mate, though a source tells me that he joined you of his own accord."

Sasori nodded. "He did. You may have... Gaara was it? if you want. We have no more use for him."

"Is he dead?"

"Yes. This way it saves us the burden of finding some place to bury him."

Raito evaluated the situation. On one hand, there was no way they could defeat the entire Akatsuki and make them pay for their crimes. On the other, Naruto, at very least, was going to want to start a fight and try, as was Clare. Wait, those were the same hands, the one where going to the Akatsuki with her team was a bad thing. On the other, other hand, if she went without them, they would be pissed at her for going alone.

Not that gallivanting off without telling anyone was unusual for her.

"Since it's in our mutual interests, I suppose there's no reason for me not to take him off of your hands... on one condition. Leave me and mine alone until we leave Amekagure. Deal?"

"I'll consider it. You'll know soon enough, I don't like making people wait..."

He was interrupted by the most eerie noise, a cross between a high pitched keen and burning rage. It sounded just about anything but natural. Raito looked in the direction that it came from as well, taking her eyes off of Sasori for a moment. The ground shook with an explosion.

"The fu-"

"I think your friends found Gaara," Sasori said simply in answer to her confusion. "If you don't want them dead, I suggest you go find them."

"Oh bloody hell," Raito nearly whined. She had forgotten the power of idiots on a mission, not that Clare was an idiot. She had just probably forgotten that she was, in fact, mortal when her best friend was in danger. A flare of chakra accompanied the sound of a rather angry cat. "I don't even know where they are... Sasori, you're coming with me."

"I am not. Since you seemed to not have realized it already, I was in the middle of something."

"... I'll make it worth your time?" She looked at Sasori's grandmother. "I'm sorry, I never got your name. Mine is Raito."

"Lady Chiyo. I don't mind waiting, you two go on ahead. We'll finish this later."

Sasori sighed. "This way."

Raito decided that it would be best not to try and hurry him, so she walked at Sasori's pace, despite the fact that she wanted desperately to smack some sense into her makeshift team. Before confronting an enemy like the Akatsuki, you were supposed to at least have your entire team, never mind checking in to see if there was back up available.

XXXXXXXXXX

Haku was getting rather tired of this whole thing. Since Raito had been doing what ever she was doing to find Gaara, he had found out only one thing about the impersonator. That he went by the name of Kurou. That was it, nothing else. Apparently, since he had come back, this guy had all but disappeared.

It was very bothersome, as Shikamaru would say. Neither of them would confront the other in broad daylight, or at all, for that matter. Kurou was not the standard brand of ninja, not the kind that would go in with the intention of a fair fight. He was rather like Raito, reluctant to take risks when he didn't have to. If the two, for whatever reason, decided to team up...

Haku shivered, despite the bright sun. Kurou had patience and a certain brand of cunning that Raito simply did not posses. Already he had been made fun of twice, through letters that were squeaky clean. That wasn't to say that Kurou hadn't fallen into a few of

Haku's own traps, but all the same.

It wasn't acceptable. Haku was the one who saw through these kinds of things, actually took the time to puzzle out the logic so they could go in the most efficient way.

What he didn't know was that Kurou was sweating too, and not just because of the summer heat. None of his traps had really worked. Sure, they had clipped his opponent, who he had discovered was a boy, but nothing else. By this point, whoever was going against him in this way was eliminated, gone, cleared off the board to make room for the next one.

Whoever it was, he was going to pay. No one got away this long, never.

On his way out of the laundromat, he smiled at the pretty girl with long, brown hair and deep brown eyes.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Sasori looked at the girl walking beside him out of the corner of his eye. She looked pensive, and annoyed. He decided that he might as well state the obvious.

"Your friends are probably already dead."

"No, I don't think so. Shihizuki isn't daft, he'll keep them from dying, somehow."

Sasori did not look convinced. "I doubt it, you underestimate Kisame's bloodthirstiness. I believe he's already maimed them beyond repair."

Raito shook her head. "For his sake, I hope not."

He looked mildly amused at that statement, the girl was no match for Kisame, let alone any of the other Akatsuki. Speaking of which, they were almost there.

The lair thingy was a mess, at least what he could see of it from here. Rocks had been moved and remolded, mud covered the floor, and black flames clung to the walls of the cave and the ground, leaving a swath of scorch marks.

"I'd say at least one of your friends is dead, if not more."

Raito wasn't listening. She was busy taking a deep, deep breath. "CLARE AND NARUTO! YOU HAD _BETTER_ GET YOUR ASSES OUT HERE RIGHT THIS SECOND, OR SO HELP ME, I WILL BEAT BOTH OF YOU RED AND BLUE AND BLACK ALL OVER!"

Her voice reverberated through the forest, and echoed back. It was quite impressive, considering that she couldn't use chakra to augment her voice. All noises of fighting stopped for a second, and then there was the sound of something breaking. Raito's hands curled into fists, and she stormed into the lair angrily.

Shihizuki crossed his arms, but didn't take his eyes off of both Clare and Naruto, who were frozen beneath his gaze. Sakura was passed out, at least, to the side. "What's going on?"  
"These three decided to be idiots. If I had known that if I left them alone, this would happen, I would have them child leashed. Actually... that's not a bad idea..."

"Do you want me to let them go yet?" Shihizuki asked.

"Yeah, I apologize for any trouble they caused. Sasori, would you still like us to take Gaara's body?"

As she said this, Clare and Naruto were both released from Shihizuki's gaze. Clare's hand was twisted at an unnatural angle. She glared at Shihizuki, and hissed, but Raito smacked her and Naruto over the head before they could attack.

"But Raito..."

"Remind me what your plan was, again?" she began, intent on rebuffing the two of them, when a familiar voice interupted.

"What's going on out here?" Kisame asked, and yawned. It had been a late night last night, and he had wanted to sleep. All the noise had woken him up, though, and he had tried to go back to sleep, but failed. A slightly more awake Itachi was standing next to him.

"Senpai!"

If Kisame hadn't been fully awake before, he was after that. His eyes narrowed. "Raito, give me one reason why I shouldn't lop off your head."

Itachi put two and two together and came up with this was the girl that threatened blackmail. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, and a hand rested on the top button of his coat.

"So you're Sasuke's friend. Give me your wrist."

One hand extended to her. Raito actually backed up, and clutched her hand to her chest.

"Raito, what did you do?" Clare asked in exasperation.

Raito's eyes met Itachi's for a split second, before they skittered away. "Kisame, help..."

"Itachi, for what it's worth, I promised that we wouldn't hurt her and her friends until after they had left the village," Sasori informed them.

Kisame sighed. "So fucking typical... is there anyone you _don't_ have wrapped around your little finger?"

"There are a few people, actually," she replied, still not meeting Itachi's eyes, which had turned red and black.

"Kisame, she's a friend of yours?"

Itachi turned his head to ask his partner, who nodded. Naruto looked between the two of them, trying to find the connection. "How? And how come you never told us? It would have made this mission a lot easier, believe it!"

Clare looked at her friend, hurt that not even she knew that. "Raito-chan..."

"Oh no, that is not going to work on me. I'm still mad at the two of you. Naruto, if you would grab Sakura, and Clare, I want you to get Gaara out of here. I'll catch up with you two in a minute."

"What about Aniki?" Clare asked, not having realized that Sasuke wasn't actually there yet. She had begun to refer to him as her older brother once she had seen him in this village.

Sasori noticed that Raito put herself between Itachi and Clare ever so slightly. If he had to hedge a guess, he would have to say she thought Itachi might attack her friend, which was odd.

"If he has any brains, which is doubtful, he's as far away from me as possible by now," she answered in a tone that was almost a growl.

"Sasuke ran off with Orochimaru," Naruto answered more helpfully. "Rai-chan," he ignored the murderous glare, "is mad because he didn't even bother saying goodbye."

Kisame looked at Itachi. "Sounds like your little brother is a player."

If Itachi noticed the subtle threat, he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he reached up two fingers, ignoring Raito's glare, and poked Clare square in the center of the forehead. "Get your pink friend and Gaara out of here," he told her.

Clare pouted. "Do we have to take the pink thing with us?"

"Yes," Raito replied. "We have to take Sakura with us. Naruto, if you would."  
XXXXXXXXXX

"What are we going to do with them?" Naruto asked, once they were a decent distance from the Akatsuki. This question was mostly directed at Raito, Clare had fallen silent in wake of Gaara's death.

Raito wished that Haku was there, while Raito knew medical jutsu, she couldn't use it. "We need to wake up Sakura, that's the first thing."

Raito rummaged in her pockets and found some smelling salts. Sakura sat up, and sneezed. She moaned, and put a hand over her eyes.

"Sakura, can you move?"

"No," the other girl answered in a dry whisper.

Raito turned to Clare and Naruto. "What exactly did she get hit with?"

"Itachi's Sharingan," they both answered.

"Is she going to be ok?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know, but I think she should get to a medical examiner in Konoha, they might know more about this. We can handle getting Gaara back by ourselves, she's first priority right now. Clare, let me see your wrist, it looks broken."

Clare handed over her wrist for Raito to examine, and then set. Naruto was still trying to figure out what Raito was trying to say, there was no way she was sending Sakura and he back to Konoha. By themselves. That would be too lucky. "You mean you want me to take Sakura-chan back to Konoha?"

"If you don't want to go, I guess..."

"No! Raito-chan, I promise that I will get Sakura-chan back to Konoha safely! You and Clare just worry about Gaara, ok?" Naruto chittered excitedly, and then was out the door before either of them could protest.

"Well, it's definitely broken, but it'll heal. Until then, you're not to do any fighting, got it?"

Clare pouted, but nodded. As much as she didn't like it, going into a fight with a broken wrist was just about suicidal. "We should get going, we have a long way to go before we reach Suna."

Raito's look sobered even more at Clare's tone, and she picked up Gaara, setting him against her shoulder. Clare stood up on her own, and they started walking into town. They would have to go there first, as there was protocol to go through.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Oh my," Lady Chiyo said when she saw them. She had been waiting to see the outcome of their run in with the Akatsuki, and was not surprised to see that two of them were missing and two more were damaged. "He's dead, isn't he?"

Raito nodded somberly. "Clare's wrist is broken, is there somewhere where we can get it fixed up properly?"

"No, there are no medical facilities that will be able to tend her right now, not a foreign ninja. Come with me back to the hotel I'm staying at, I might be able to do something for you two."

Raito and Clare looked at each other, and then followed. Protocol could wait, Raito could tell that Clare's pain was too fresh.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Gaara no sabuko, try that again, I dare you," Clare growled.

"Clare, I was just..."

"Sit down," she ordered.

"Yes ma'am," he sighed, and did as she said. Clare looked marginally appeased, and hugged him. Gaara looked at her. "Am I allowed to hug you, or is that too much?" he asked in a teasing tone.

"You're still healing, I'm going to get you some soup," she said, and got up. Gaara frowned slightly at the lack of Clare hugging him, but said nothing. She and Raito had been not exactly pleased with him since he had woken up, not that he blamed them. From what

Clare had told him, Deidara had kidnapped him and stolen Shukaku, as well as kidnapping Shihizuki, who had joined them. She, Ren, Yosuke, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had been sent to retrieve the two of them, but Sasuke had abandoned them during the mission to join Orochimaru.

He was pretty sure there was more to the story than that, but Clare didn't know, Sakura and Naruto weren't there, and Raito refused to say a thing on the subject. Even though he was Kazekage, and should have access to such information. Apparently, that meant nothing to them, as Raito refused to even tell him why Haku wasn't with them, or why she was even there in the first place, and Clare was ordering him about like he was a genin.

The only reason he put up with it was because he owed them for saving his life, at least, that's what he told himself. It had absolutely nothing at all to do with the fact that if they _really_ wanted to, they could make him do just about anything, by force if it came to that.

No, that had nothing to do with it at all. Stupid women.

Raito was who knows where, she just hadn't shown turned up in the morning. In fact, she hadn't been there for breakfast since he had woken up the first time. He knew it got on Clare's nerves, not even she knew where she disappeared to, but there wasn't much they could do about it.

Besides, he rather liked having no one in the house besides himself and Clare. There were so many more times to cuddle when it was just the two of them.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

When Clare deemed him well enough to travel, they slipped out of the city as unobtrusively as possible. Raito walked on one side of Gaara while Clare walked on the other. It would have been must faster for them to travel by jumping, but Raito trusted neither of them enough to stick her feet to each branch. The only reason they had gotten there so quickly in the first place was because time of of the essence, and she had been forced to trust Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.

Now that it wasn't, Raito was going to walk. The extra day or two wouldn't matter, not at this point, and would allow Gaara a few more days to get his strength back as well as Clare's wrist to heal. It was almost better, but not quite yet. In a few days' time, Clare would be as good as new.

Clare adjusted Gaara's gourd on her back, she still wasn't used to it yet. The only reason it was there because it was heavy, and Clare wanted him to take it as easy as possible and not be tempted to use the sand to try and get them there faster. She was well aware that Gaara was impatient to get back to Suna. He probably thought that if he didn't, the city was going to fall apart, which actually was a sort of valid concern, as Kankuro was helping play the part of Kazekage...

Clare's thoughts took a turn when she realized Gaara had stopped, and had raised a hand to point at his gourd. He looked positively furious.

"Who is Itachi?" he seethed.

"Huh?" Raito asked, not getting what he was talking about for a second.

"My gourd," he elaborated. "It has his name on it. He will be one of the few to feel sand crush every inch of his body."

Written neatly on Gaara's gourd were the words, "Itachi was here", which was what he had been referring to. Raito decided to nip the second trip to the Akatsuki in the bud. "By all means, go try to fight one of the most key Akatsuki by yourself."

Gaara narrowed his eyes. "Clare would come with me."

Before Clare could answer, Raito cut in with, "not if I order you not to go. Technically you're dead, so I outrank you," she said with a smile.

Gaara grumbled, but didn't bring up the topic again. "The sooner we get back to Suna, the better."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Gaara, what were you thinking! You worried Kankuro and I sick! We thought you were dead!" Temari scolded as soon as she saw him. "I would have gone after you, but there were things going on here, so..."

Raito took this as her que to leave, before...

"Raito, whatever the hell your last name is."

...that happened. She sighed and turned around. Gaara did not look pleased. "Yes, Kazekage-sama?"

"You knew about the man terrorizing Suna, and didn't tell me about it. Why?"

"Well, you see, I would have told you about it, but seeing as there was nothing any of us could do anything about it as we were in Amekagure..."

Gaara pointed at the door. "Take care of it."

Raito bowed in a slightly mocking manner, and saw her own way out of the manor. Clare didn't quite understand the exchange. "Did something happen between you two when I wasn't there?"

Gaara answered while trying to remember if there were any cookies left in the house. "I'm the Kazekage, she's my subordinate. Besides, she pulled rank on me the other day. Which reminds me... go find me some cookies."

Clare smacked him over the back of the head. "Just because you're Kazekage doesn't mean you can order me around like that, unless you're going to pay me?"

"Oh he'll pay you alright," Kankuro said suggestively. Both Clare and Gaara smacked him upside the head.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Raito, I know you're pissed, don't kill him," Haku said as soon as he saw her coming. He wasn't surprised that she had found them, he hadn't exactly been subtle. Not that he was being subtle now, he might as well as painted a giant sign over Kurou's face saying, "this is the guy who pretended to kill you." Wonderful.

"Now why would I do a silly thing like that? It's not like the Kazekage just gave me the mission.. oh wait. He did." Raito crossed her arms and sunk her weight to one leg, but at least she hadn't gotten Head Cleaver off her back.

Kurou decided the girl was snooty and a stickler for the rules. Yet, Haku seemed to like her well enough, and she seemed to be the one that decided what happened to him, so... "I can pay you double whatever he wants, and I've seen the bounty posters."

For whatever reason, Raito started laughing at him. Kurou didn't look half as amused. He didn't see what was funny, sure it was a lot of money, but he was good. "If you think I can't get it..."

"Love, money is no issue, we don't take bribes. No, I'm wondering if you're really as good as I've heard."

Kurou looked at Haku, who smiled. "He is. I only caught up to him yesterday. Kurou is smart, we could really use him in Hidden Mist."

"Well... if Haku says so... if you want, take this to the Shino building in Hidden Mist, they'll supply you a job."

She handed him a blank card, whatever was written on it probably only showed up in the presence of a certain kind of jutsu. Kurou took it. "That's it? You're not going to turn me in or anything?"

"No, but if you give me reason too, I think I'll find it much easier to kill you and just get it over with. Coming, Haku?"

Raito held open the door, waiting for Haku. Kurou decided that he still didn't like her, but there was no harm in checking out the Shino building, as this girl was a legendary ninja. He did find it odd that Firefly himself never came to deal with the situation, though. He had almost been looking forward to matching wits with him, not that Haku hadn't presented a challenge. Inwardly, Kurou thought that Haku was better at this game than Firefly could possibly hope to be.

"I should have just killed him."

"But you didn't."

"I know." Raito sounded regretful of this fact. "I should have."

"Too late now," Haku replied, and he sounded almost amused. "You're getting soft."

"No kidding, it's kind of annoying. I think I need to go back to the philosophy of kill first, ask questions later."

"Does this mean we're going to go after a bounty?" Out of all the different kinds of missions they could do, Haku's favorite was bounties. "Sasuke, perhaps?"

"I've decided that I don't care what happens with Sasuke, none of my concern at this point." She neglected to mention that if she did go after Sasuke, she was going alone, and god help him when she caught up with him. "I heard there was a certain corrupt politician in Tea Country..."

"You are Raito, and you are Haku, correct?"

A woman with her hair in a tight bun and a pen pushed to her mouth who was holding a clipboard was the one addressing them. Behind her was a smaller, mousy looking woman who wore a pair of glasses.

"That would depend on who's asking."

Haku rolled his eyes. "Yes, we are. Who are you?"

"I'm Hoshi Cho, head of the CICOPandC. You assisted in the Kazekage's rescue and retrieval, correct?" As she spoke, she was consulting her piece of paper. She didn't look at them again until she was finished.

"You could say that," Haku said, at the same time Raito asked, "What is the CICOPandC?"

"That's wonderful, Kasume, schedule them in at 2:00, and the CICOPand C is the Commitee In Charge Of Parades and Celebrations, you two are going to be featured in our parade. I'm thinking rainbows... and maybe some glitter... are you writing that down?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Wonderful, we'll see you at 2:00."

"Yeah, um, not so much," Raito said. There was no way she was going to partake in a parade involving anything remotely rainbowish and glittery. "We've already made plans."

"Oh, then if that's the case..."

There was a slight sting, and everything went dark.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"Ow..."

"Raito, are you ok?"

"Yes, but I know of a certain woman who's not going to be for long... what the hell? Haku, do you have any idea..?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Currently, they were sitting in a room, tied in chairs, back to back. Every single one of their fingers was tied to the point of immobility. Additionally, the room was plunged in darkness.

"If we break the legs of the chair, where I'm assuming your feet have been tied as well, I think we might be able to smash the rest of it..."

"Don't even bother," interjected a voice that was all too annoying, by this point. Hoshi flipped on the light. "It... is time."

Raito didn't like the way she said that, and Haku thought the way she said it needed an evil laugh. Instead of that, though, she snapped her fingers, and both Haku and Raito were surrounded by people armed with tools of torture.

Namely makeup paraphernalia and hair styling tools. Raito's scream echoed through the village until she passed out from the lack of air.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Raito, we have to get out of here."

"I agree. Any idea how?"

"Not a clue, you're the one that comes up with these things."

"You want me to get into a dress that looks like a giant rainbow? I don't think so."

"Is that..?"

"Sakura? I think so. SAKURA! SAKURA, WE'RE IN HERE!"

"Did you hear that?"

Hoshi moved in front of the door, wishing she had gagged the two ninja. She hadn't expected them to be so troublesome.

"Nope, I didn't hear a thing. Now..."

"NARUTO!"

"Did someone just call my name?"

"Excuse me, but I think there's someone in there," Sakura said as politely as she could.

Then the two of them felt stinging on their necks, and everything went dark for them, too.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Oh great, there goes our rescue. I've got my fingers free, just give me a second to reach the kunai... there."

Raito slit the rope on her hands first, then the rope that bound the two together. Both of them undid the ropes binding their ankles to the chair, and then Haku got to Naruto and Sakura while Raito worked on cutting a hole in the wall.

"W-what's going on?" Naruto asked dazedly as soon as he came to.

"We're getting out of here," Haku whispered. As soon as he got Naruto's hands free, he decided Naruto could finish the rest of it and got to work on Sakura.

"What happened?"

"They're crazy," Haku whispered. "They got us first and locked us in here when we wouldn't cooperate for their parade, and then you guys. We have to hurry, if you're free, please help Raito with the wall."

Raito and Naruto quickly finished scoring the plaster, and then rammed their shoulders into it until it gave way. Haku picked up Sakura, and the ninja burst into the street. They immediately ran into Ren.

"What in the hell is going on?"

Raito looked up at him through her ridiculously long and glittery rainbow colored eyelashes. "Thank you for volunteering to help us." She grabbed his wrist and ducked behind a nearby building before he got the chance to protest. "You can be look out until I get back into normal clothes."

"Good god, it looks like a rainbow threw up all over you two."  
Raito looked down briefly and saw that she had been switched into one very rainbow-y dress covered with sequins and that she was covered with even more glitter. She didn't even want to know what the crazy lady had done with her hair and face.

"That's more or less what happened," Haku told him. He caught the clothes that Raito threw at him, the same ones he had been wearing earlier, and summoned some mist. Finding a bathroom in the get up that they had been wearing would draw too much attention. By the time they had finished, Sakura was just starting to wake up.

"W-what happened?"

"Crazy make up woman, remember?" Naruto told her.

"Wow, you two still look like you got attacked by a rainbow on steroids," Ren said.

"Make one more comment and I'll make _something_ look like it was attacked by a rainbow on steroids and you won't like it," Raito threatened.

"Come on, we have to get out of here."

"Just a second," Haku said. He cast a simple genjutsu to cover up the fact they looked like they had been attacked by the glitter monster. "There.

Sakura, can you walk on your own?"

"Who do you think I am?" She sounded offended.

Haku wisely chose not to answer, and they ditched the rainbow clothes in the alley.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Kankuro should have some makeup remover in here somewhere..." Raito said. There was no way she was going to let Clare see her like this and take pictures for blackmail later.

"Found it," her partner in crime answered. He tossed her the bottle, and in no time they were back to normal. Ren had already been threatened into silence, Naruto had been blackmailed, and Sakura seen anything, leaving nothing to attest to their adventure besides themselves. Haku replaced the bottle, and jumped out of the window. Raito had to do it the harder way, and as soon as she put her foot on the sill an alarm went off and some kind of ancient jutsu went off that froze her in place.

She cursed enough that it would have done Hidan proud under her breath.

Kankuro felt a tug on his chakra which signaled that someone had tried to break into his room. He excused himself from the living room where Clare and Gaara were cuddling anyway and went to check it out. Quite possibly one of the last things he was expected to see was Raito crouching on the sill.

"Raito-chan, I hadn't realized that you were obsessed with me to the point of breaking into my room." He made himself comfortable against the door frame, perfectly content to leave Raito in the position she was in.

"I'm not," she replied. "Now will you please let me out of here?"

"On one condition. You have to be my girlfriend for the week."

"What?"

Kankuro shrugged. "Take it or leave it."

Raito didn't look pleased, but consented anyway. Kankuro released the jutsu that was keeping her in place. She nearly fell flat on her face. Kankuro helped her up and put his arm over her shoulder. She looked at it disdainfully, but didn't say anything or try and shake it off.

"Let's get one thing straight right now, I am not kissing you."

"Nothing beyond kissing," Kankuro countered.

"Fine," Raito agreed. "But I still reserve the right to smack you."

"Only if you defend me from Clare." Kankuro hadn't forgotten the influence Raito had on Clare.

"What, can't deal with your younger brother's girlfriend?"

"She hits hard," Kankuro defended. "And she kicks too."

"I'll call her off then, but only if you don't really deserve it. Are you satisfied?"

Kankuro held her more closely. "Come on, it's not that bad. I'm good looking and cool, you should be proud that I even noticed you."

"Remind me again how long it's been since you last had a girlfriend?"

Before Kankuro could reply, the phone rang. Raito picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Raito, good. Are you available to help Hidden Waterfall at the moment?_"

"I am. What happened?"

"_I'll tell you when you get here,_" Shibuki told her. "_Bring Haku as well_."

"Of course. We'll see you in a few days." Raito hung up the phone.

"Well?" Kankuro asked.

"I have to go, something's happening that I have to be there for."

"Wait a minute, what about our agreement?"

"Long distance relationship?" Raito offered. "This isn't something I can just ignore, you should have thought of that before you said that was your term."

Raito pecked him on the cheek and then darted out of the room though the window, this time being careful not to touch the sill.

"Took you long enough," Haku chastised when he saw her. He was leaning against the building, waiting for her. "What happened?"

"There was a jutsu on the window frame, I got trapped and now Kankuro thinks I'm his girlfriend. Too bad we're going to be in Waterfall."

"Why? What happened?"

"I'm not sure, but Shibuki said we need to get down there if we're not busy, which we aren't."

Haku watched the moving branches of the tree above them for a second. "We should tell Gaara then, shouldn't we?"

"I suppose..."

They went to the front door and knocked. Clare sighed, and got up to get it. "What?" she asked annoyedly when she saw who was there.

"We're leaving Suna, there are other places where we're needed," Haku informed her.

Clare pouted. "Already? But we just got back."

Raito shrugged apologetically. "Not much we can do about it. Tell Gaara that if he gets himself kidnapped or killed, again, we aren't getting him back."

"Oh, I don't plan to let him out of my sight long enough for that to happen," Clare told the other girl.

Raito raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Haku hugged Clare, and then they started walking back to Konoha.

"We're not going to come back here for a _long_ time, are we?" Haku asked.

Raito shook her head. "Nope. I am never, ever going to get that close to the CICOP and C." She shivered. "That was pure torture. So, what do you think's going on in Waterfall?"

"It's a blind spot, you know as much as I do. That's the only place where we don't have eyes, Shibuki guards the entrance too carefully. He may just want an escort to wherever he's going."

"That's true," Raito mused.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**  
When Haku and Raito finally got to the village about a week later, Shibuki was already waiting for them outside. He embraced Raito, who didn't return the hug, and then left an arm around her shoulder while he turned to address Haku. The shinobi schooled his face into politeness, having already been made aware by the kuinichi that she did not, in fact, like Shibuki. In the slightest  
The only reason she put up with it was because she didn't want to hurt the leader's feelings (which led Haku to believe that she might be lying about not liking him) and because he was dying for his village, which both of them fully respected. He still felt kind of bad about not knowing about the rogue nins coming back to reclaim the village and not having been able to make it so Shibuki didn't have to drink the Hero's water.  
"It took you guys a while to get here, but now that you're here you can start the mission," Shibuki said with some relief in his tone. "I'll explain when we get inside," he said, and looked around before diving into the water.  
Raito and Haku followed him through the underground caverns. They emerged to the village that wasn't that familiar. Raito wrung out her hair and clothes as best as she could, not that it really helped. Haku and Shibuki had kept the water off of them with a simple jutsu, but Raito wasn't capable of that and had gotten soaked. Shibuki took advantage of the fact Raito's clothes now stuck closely to her skin for a few seconds before turning his attention back to the reason he had brought them here. He gestured to a building behind him.  
"This is the new Academy," he said. "And I want you two to teach here, at least until I can find some suitable teachers."  
Raito and Haku looked at each other. "You do realize that we can't reveal any secret techniques, right?" Haku asked.  
Shibuki nodded. "I know, it's just that since the attack, I've realized if something like that were to happen again, we would be in some serious trouble, and it's not going to be for very long. I just need to find some teachers that I can trust."  
"Shibuki, you do realize that I have the patience of... a five year old kid. There is no way I'll manage to teach anyone anything useful without giving them brain damage from smacking them upside the head first," Raito explained.  
Her more patient counterpart nodded. "Raito's more likely to snip all the wires in a bomb than to figure them all out because it would take too long."  
"Please? I don't have anyone else to ask yet, you guys are the only ones in the village that know anything about fighting," Shibuki begged. "Besides myself, but I have other things that I have to do."  
"Fine, but on one condition. If you tell anyone about this, we will be forced to draw support from your village," Raito replied. The only reason she was doing this was because Shibuki soon wouldn't be able to defend the village, and they needed more capable ninja.  
Shibuki smiled and nodded, sticking his hand out. "Deal."  
Haku smiled as well, and shook his hand. "We will have to leave after a month, but until then, we'll help you."  
"Good. I have three students that are ready to learn right now," Shibuki said proudly. Haku didn't have the heart to tell him that normally there were enough students to fill up an entire academy.  
"Just... one thing," Raito said. "You can't interfere with our teaching methods, ok?"  
"Consider it done! Nori, Shichiro, Ayane! These are your senseis, Haku and Raito."  
The three students, two boys and a girl, bowed formally to the feminine boy and soaking girl.  
"So you're real ninja?" Nori asked skeptically. "You don't look like it."  
The twelve year old wasn't buying it, he had always pictured ninja as decked out with plenty of armor and strong looking. Also, he didn't like that a girl was teaching him, much less that she was only four years older than him.  
Raito smacked him upside the head. "We're doing you a favor by doing this for you."  
Nori rubbed his head and glared at her. "I was just saying..."  
"I told you girls could be ninja," Ayane told Nori smugly. "So, what are we going to do first? Are you going to teach us how to use nunchucks? Or maybe a really cool jutsu that can blast fire and toast our enemies!" she said emphatically.  
"I just wanted to be a medical nin..." the other boy, Shichiro, said quietly. "So I could heal people..."  
"Haku, get them started on basic kunai exercises while I get into dry clothes," Raito told him. "Just to see where they're at. I shouldn't be long."  
"Can't you just use a jutsu for that?" Nori asked her, like she was stupid. It was too late though, she had already left. Haku looked at the students. Shichiro, a boy with brown hair and blue eyes wearing a hoodie that was too big as well as baggie jeans and normal shoes, looked nervous. Nori, with black hair and green eyes, looked ready to question Haku's authority at the next opportunity, and Ayane, who had deep purple hair and teal eyes that were so dark they were almost green, looked eager.  
"Do any of you have your own kunai?" Haku asked.  
Ayane pulled out five of them from her pocket, but Nori and Shichiro both shook their heads no. Haku couldn't say he was terribly surprised. He handed five each to both Nori and Shichiro. "I want you to try and hit that tree over there," he said, pointing to a tree that was about five feet away. He would back them up until eventually they started really missing.  
He put his hands in his pockets and waited for the students to start throwing. Shichiro hesitated, while Ayane threw her first kunai. It missed entirely. Nori smirked at her, but he missed as well, though he wasn't as off. His expression darkened, and he threw another one, which grazed it but didn't stick. The last one he threw did though.  
"Hah! I'd like to see you do as good as that, Ayane!" he bragged.  
Her next one stuck, but the last one missed entirely. She went to pick them up, but Haku put his hand in front of her. "You have to wait until everyone has stopped," he told her.  
She frowned, and crossed her arms over her chest, but didn't protest. "Well hurry up then," she said impatiently.  
Shichiro's hands shook, but he hit the tree with two of his kunai.  
"Not bad," Raito said. She had managed to sneak up on her students, which wasn't hard, and they all jumped before turning around to see her standing next to Haku. "For your first time doing this, that is. I guess we'll work on this first, as there's no way we'll be able to help you with chakra control until you can control your physical body."  
Ayane looked disappointed, but didn't protest it. Nori, on the other hand, felt differently. "I want to learn some jutsu, knife throwing is easy and every ninja can do it."  
"You hit one, barely, of three hits. You're hardly in a position to talk," Raito told him.  
"Yeah, but if you know enough jutsu, then you don't have to worry about it," Ayane argued.  
"And if you run out of chakra?" Raito asked her.  
"You hit them with your most powerful attack first, duh," Ayane replied.  
"Then the ninja that you didn't see comes out of hiding and kills you. Good plan," Raito said sarcastically.  
"They have chakra detecting jutsus," Ayane mumbled, now seeing the flaw in her plan.  
"General rule if you're going into a fight, always have a backup plan. There's always a chance something will go wrong, and you need to be prepared for that," Haku said. "Now adjust your grip like this..."  
Haku helped Nori quickly while Raito adjusted Shichiro's grip. Ayane watched the way Nori was holding it now, and tried to figure it out on her own. Haku helped her as well, and both Haku and Raito gave them helpful suggestions to better their aim. By the time they broke for lunch, each of the ninja in training were able to hit the tree at the five foot mark at least two out of every three shots.  
Shichiro lingered behind to help Raito and Haku pick up the fallen kunai.  
"Do you think you might be able to teach me some medical techniques?" he asked somewhat nervously.  
"Sure," Haku agreed. "I'm not going to teach you anything about medical jutsu or anything like that, but I can teach you normal medicine. One question first though, can you handle seeing a lot of blood?"  
"I think so..."  
"Does this bother you?" Raito asked. A mixture very similar to blood was running down her arm, and the front of her shirt was almost completely soaked. It looked like her neck had been slashed open, though that was just the product of makeup that was kept in one of her multiple pockets.  
Shichiro looked a little pale. "I-I... I think I can handle seeing that," he said breathlessly.  
"Good. Then I want you to bandage this."  
She drew a kunai across her forearm very lightly, raising little red dots of blood. Shichiro swallowed, and patted his pockets for bandages. Haku handed him some, and with a shaky hand he wound the material around her arm.  
"T-there," he said when he finished, and looked like he was about to pass out.  
"Chill out, it's fake blood," she told him. "I'm not really hurt, except for my arm, but that'll heal in no time."  
"You did well," Haku told him. "Seeing someone you know covered in blood can be scary, just pretend that it's fake."  
Shichiro nodded, never taking his eyes off of Raito's neck. She laughed a little. "I think we've traumatized the poor kid. If it really bothers you that much, I'll show you that it's fake."  
She pulled a small towel out of her pocket and rubbed some of the "blood" off, smearing the makeup a little as well. She dipped the towel in the water in the lake, and then rubbed the rest of it off. "See?"  
Shichiro relaxed a little, but still looked kind of shaken. He nodded. "I know it's fake, it's just..."  
"Kid, go get some lunch," Raito ordered, and he left as quickly as he was able.  
"Did you really have to do that?" Haku asked once their student was out of earshot.  
Raito shrugged. "It worked, didn't it? Besides, he wants to be a ninja, a medic nin no less. He's going to see blood."  
Haku shook his head. "We could have gone a little bit easier on the poor guy..."  
"You're forgetting who you're talking to," Raito interrupted.  
"Point," Haku conceded. "I almost feel bad for the poor kids... sticking them with you," he teased. "We should go get some lunch, though, and you need to change your shirt. We've scared the kids enough for today."  
"Are you kidding? I'm just getting started."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"We're ready!" Naruto said as soon as he set foot in the Hokage's office.

"It's about time!" Kiba yelled when he saw the blonde. "We've been waiting for... ten minutes!"  
"H-hi N-Naruto-k-kun," Hinata greeted.  
"Hey Hinata. And we were only ten minutes late! It was Kakashi-sensei's fault!"  
Kakashi shrugged. "My dryer caught on fire. Faulty cord," he lied.  
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Now that you're all here, I finally can give you the details of the mission..."  
"I'm coming too!" another voice called out, and Clare popped into the doorway. She was panting. "Come on, Gaara!"  
"I'm right here," he told the overactive girl. Lee was with him. "Consider this repayment for my rescue," he said before Tsunade could get a word in edgewise.  
"Fine. I've received intel that he's in Iwagakure, don't ask me why. Good luck, you're going to need it."  
XXXXXXXXXX  
"This is crap," Sasuke muttered angrily while running through the trees at a breakneck pace.  
"Now, now, Child," Orochimaru chided, earning a pointed glare from his student. "The traps guarding this scroll will test your new abilities, and the scroll is rumored to contain quite a few ancient jutsu."  
"It would be much more productive to attempt the Vault in Mist," Sasuke told the Sannin.  
Orochimaru would have agreed, had he not had an inkling of what was guarding that vault and who owned it. It was supposedly owned by the Shino cooperation, Daisuke Inc; who specialized in producing impossible traps and labyrinths, and then there was Kahaku. Kahaku was rumored to possess a kekki genkai that allowed him to manipulate the blood of another person's body and was a master stealth ninja. Additionally, it was impossible to break in, only three people had the pass card, and they had sworn an oath to die before allowing someone else to get through the maze, and it was nearly impossible to touch them. The pass card was only one of many precautions anyway, a person had to memorize the locations of several pressure plates to get through the maze without the alarm being triggered and one wrong step would result in the alarm being triggered as well.  
Even Orochimaru wasn't stupid enough to attempt that. "Patience, Child. Not even you are strong enough for that, yet."  
"Hmph, it can't be that hard, it's not like there's a demon guarding it."  
Orochimaru wasn't so sure about that. There had been a few rumors a while ago... "In any case, we're closer to the scroll in Iwagakure."  
Sasuke didn't look convinced, but also decided not to press the issue further. They stopped when they reached the abandoned cemetery. Unlike a horror film in which these sorts of things usually happen in, the sun was bright, the grass was green, and there was no mist. Just a few dead flowers scattered here and there.  
They approached the catacomb in the middle of the cemetery, and other than a musty, rotting smell, nothing seemed out of place. Regardless, Sasuke activated his Sharingan and scanned the area, just to be sure. There were no traps apparent, so he swung open the metal gates.  
"Sasuke!" a feminine voice yelled, and crashed into him for a hug.  
"Sakura, what are you doing here?" he asked in an annoyed tone.  
The pink haired girl let go of him. "We're here to bring you back to Konoha," Naruto answered. "Let's go, before that weird snake guy comes back."  
"I'm not going," Sasuke told them coolly. He knew that Orochimaru was watching from somewhere nearby, and had probably moved into the shadows as soon as he detected the other ninja. "I've outgrown Konoha."  
"If you're not going to come back with us willingly, then we'll just have to drag you back!"  
Sasuke reached into his own pouch for kunai. "That's fine by me."  
"No! Don't fight, SASUKE!" she screamed when he took a punch to the face. Naruto followed up with another one, which Sasuke also took without defending himself.  
"That's for leaving us in the middle of a mission!"  
The force of the kick to the chest Sasuke took cracked a headstone when he fell on it. He waved Sakura off when she tried to help him up and he stood by himself. "I'm not going back," he told Naruto, which incited the boy to charge after him. Sasuke caught Naruto's fists, ignoring the fact he was being driven back through the graves. Sasuke dug his heels into the soft dirt, bringing the two of them to a stop. Naruto let go first, and directed a kick to Sasuke's head, which was parried with a kunai.  
To that Naruto responded with making a ton of shadow clones, which Sasuke destroyed and then went after their creator. Fire jutsu scorched the grass and a few stones, but missed Naruto who quickly started to sign for Rasengan. Sasuke did the same for Chidori, but then they clashed Naruto's Rasengan was stronger. The black haired boy managed to get out of the way in time to escape mostly intact, but his sleeve and some of the skin on his arm was torn. The whiskers on Naruto's face had deepened, and feral canines were poking out above his lip.  
Dark marks slithered across Sasuke's skin, and one of his eyes changed color, but Sasuke didn't allow it any further than that. His Sharingan allowed him to catch a punch that Naruto attempted to land, and land a kick of his own. The force sent Naruto reeling, and the crash sent up a cloud of dust.  
Without waiting to see if Naruto would get up, Sasuke sent kunai with wires attached to them into the dust cloud and then activated a jutsu that sent fire down the wires. When Naruto charged out of the dust, the burns were already healing and he had a Rasengan in his hand. It was caught, but not before it skinned Sasuke's cheek. Naruto expanded the jutsu, causing a little more damage before Sasuke deflected it and kicked Naruto in the cheek.  
"Give it up," Naruto said. "I don't want to fight you, but you have to come back to Konoha."  
"I'm learning much more with Orochimaru then I ever learned in Konoha."  
Another wave of copies came after him, but not one scored a hit. They were incinerated before they got the chance, and Naruto took the opportunity to charge through the brilliant flames and punch Sasuke into the opened catacomb. He didn't see the black marks form into one solid grey mass that covered the other boy, nor did he see the hand-like wings unfold. He did hear a weird moaning noise that echoed through the graveyard.  
"Come on, Sasuke! I'll stop hurting you if you just come back to Konoha!" Naruto called.  
"Idiot, that wasn't me," Sasuke growled as he came barreling out of the crypt. The phrase "like a bat out of hell," sprang into Naruto's mind.  
"Then who was it?"  
Sasuke had taken a defensive position beside Naruto instead of against him. "That crypt was guarded, idiot. When you pushed me down there it activated some kind of jutsu."  
"Who would want to guard a bunch of dead people? They're already dead," Naruto asked, all animosity towards Sasuke forgotten for the moment. Like a cliche horror film, one skeletal hand pulled the rest of the corpse out of the catacomb. It was followed by another, and through the grate Naruto could see that there were more.  
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"  
"Phoenix flower jutsu!"  
They sliced and diced as many as they could, but the undead just kept coming, undeterred by the sunlight, and they had weapons. A few even knew rudimentary jutsu, and after an hour both were panting heavily. Sasuke threw in five kunai with wires attached, and then electrified them. The zombies lit up like Christmas tree lights, but more replaced them.  
"Raaaaaaaaaaah!" Naruto yelled, and started charging through with a Rasengan gleaming between his hands. Piles of zombies accumulated on either side of him, and Sasuke punched the last of them that were out of the crypt. Naruto stood by his side.  
"I think that was the last of them," Sasuke said in between pants.  
"Yeah... I think we got them. What's in there that's so important anyway?"  
"NONE MAY ENTER! TURN BACK!" an ominous and loud voice boomed suddenly. The birds fled from the trees, and both Naruto and Sasuke had to cover their ears to avoid being deafened.  
"God, that thing's as bad as Sakura for being loud," Naruto complained.  
"Agreed."  
"Well now that we've gotten this far, we have to see what's in there. What are you waiting for, Sasuke-teme?"  
By this point, the sun was beginning to set. It cast long shadows over the broken graves, and Sasuke was half expecting the zombies to rise again. Naruto seemed to catch his train of thought, and shivered. Sasuke himself looked scary with the grey skin and wings, combined with the Sharingan, he looked like something that would crawl out of that sarcophagus. When it became apparent that the zombies were destroyed adequately, the black star on the bridge of his nose and the rest of the grey covering his skin receded back into the curse marks, and the wings into his shoulders.  
The claws on Naruto's hands as well as the red aura surrounding him faded as well. In a few minutes, the two of them were back to normal, and it was almost as if nothing had changed between the two of them.  
"I'll go first, we don't need to set off any more traps," Sasuke decided, and shot a pointed looked at Naruto. Naruto nodded, and followed Sasuke in.  
"So, Teme, why did you leave Konoha in the first place?" Naruto asked by way of making conversation. He brushed a spider web out of the way as he walked, the only way he could see was because he had taken on the fox's eyes. Sasuke had his Sharingan.  
Not that it wasn't making Naruto nervous. The lack of light lended the entire place a creepy feel, any minute something could pop up, like a ghost...  
Naruto did a full body shiver and looked behind him, but there was nothing. He wished he had the Byakugan, just to be sure.  
"Something wrong, dobe?"  
"N-no. Hey, you don't think there are any ghosts down here, do you?" Naruto asked in a shaky voice.  
"There are no such things as ghosts," Sasuke said firmly. He decided that a freaked out Naruto wouldn't help him much, and changed the subject. "I left because I want to become stronger."  
"To kill that man you were talking about." Naruto shivered when he heard a low moan, and Sasuke stopped entirely. "W-what was that?" he whispered.  
"How would I know? It's not as if we set off any traps, it could just be a draft of wind..."  
"Sasuke, duck!"  
As it was better to err on the side of caution, Sasuke did as Naruto had directed. When they straightened, they saw holes had opened up on the other side of the wall. Naruto picked up a senbon that missed.  
"Is the entire thing going to be like a cliche movie? First the zombies, now Indiana Jones..."  
Sasuke didn't wait for Naruto to finish, he pushed him out of the way. A hole stood where Naruto had just been, with sharp spikes at the bottom. Then Sasuke himself had to move, lest he be subject to the sharp and unpleasant looking fate. They quickly figured out that if they stayed in the same spot for more than a few seconds, the tiles would move out from under them.  
It turned into a race as to who could get across faster, until they finally came across a piece that looked like a normal catacomb. Coffins lined the walls, and the scent of decay had faded but was still present. Nothing looked out of place, which made it all the more suspicious.  
All the same, the two of them walked out into it. Nothing happened until they were about halfway through, and then a cloud of something that stung their lungs burst out and filled the entire chamber. Whatever it was, it flooded the room for a few seconds and then seeped out through vents in the walls.  
For Naruto, the effects of the poison faded over a period of a few minutes. When he woke up again, he moaned. "Sasuke-teme?"  
There was no answer. Naruto blinked to clear his vision and in the process noticed that Sasuke was still unconscious. He pulled out some smelling salts that Raito had forced him to take and rubbed them under Sasuke's nose until the other boy woke up, coughing. It sounded really bad, and he looked extremely pale and sick.  
"Sasuke-teme, come on, this is no time to be taking a nap," Naruto said as he stood and extended a hand to help him up.  
Sasuke coughed again, and there was a rattling sound in his chest. "...Can't," he said after a few minutes of coughing. He literally couldn't, his body was refusing to move.  
"Oh, that was poison, wasn't it?" Naruto realized, slapping his forehead. Without warning, he grabbed a syringe, yanked the cap off, and grabbed Sasuke's arm. He extended it and felt around his elbow until he found the vein Haku had told him to find and injected the contents into Sasuke. Then he waited patiently for a few seconds while Sasuke recovered.  
"What was that?"  
"That was an antidote Haku gave me, it's supposed to cure just about any poison," Naruto explained. "Good thing he gave me that, huh?"  
The yellow haired boy put the cap back on, there was still plenty left. Haku had told him that it "Yeah," Sasuke agreed. He stood up a little shakily. "Come on, we need to get going."  
Naruto nodded. "Sasuke, I think you should take the rest of this. I can purge most toxins from my body on my own, thanks to the fox, and if I need it I can always get more from Haku."  
"Hmph," Sasuke said, but took it anyway. It disappeared into his kunai pouch for safe keeping.  
"I hope Sakura-chan's alright," Naruto voiced after a few minutes of silence. Nothing had happened for the past few minutes, just walking down the crypt.  
"Sakura's no match for Orochimaru-sensei," Sasuke replied coolly.  
"Nah, Sakura-chan's gotten a lot stronger since you've left. Granny Tsunade taught her some of her moves."  
Sasuke snorted at the familiar address, but it was Naruto. "Not strong enough to beat Orochimaru-sensei."  
"Sakura-chan's scary now, I think you're underestimating her. Not that you ever recognized her place on the team anyway," he added.  
"Sakura never did any of the work when we went on real missions. She screamed my name a few times and watched," Sasuke argued.  
"Sakura-chan saved Haku and Raito," Naruto replied before he remembered exactly what Raito had threatened to do to him if he told anyone that. "But don't tell Raito or Haku I told you that, they'll kill me."  
"What do you mean, Sakura rescued Raito and Haku?" Sasuke asked, now genuinely curious.  
Naruto's face stretched into a devious grin. "Can you keep a secret?"  
"I've yet to tell Sakura about the time you impersonated me," Sasuke pointed out.  
Somewhere, Raito felt a disturbance in the force and had the sudden urge to beat Naruto senseless.  
"Raito. In a dress."  
Sasuke's eyes widened in the darkness. "How?"  
"This organization in Suna, the CICOP and C, they kidnapped the two of them and dressed them up for a parade," Naruto said conspiratorially. "I don't know how they got Raito into a dress and the two of them to impersonate a rainbow, but they did. They were going to do the same thing to Sakura and I when she heard someone calling our names..."  
"Wait just a second, you expect me to believe that some organization in Suna managed to kidnap Raito and Haku? I don't believe you."  
"Ren was there," Naruto muttered.  
"I'll bet." It was evident from Sasuke's tone that he didn't believe what Naruto was claiming.  
"I'm serious! Raito threatened to autopsy me and everything while I was alive if I so much as so much as thought of it!"  
Naruto was almost so busy trying to convince Sasuke that he was telling the truth that he nearly ran into the giant double doors that stood in their path. Without so much of a thought, Sasuke pushed them open.  
The room was empty, and there wasn't another door. After thoroughly checking the room, both arrived at the same conclusion, they had missed something, or someone had gotten there before them.  
"Man, that was a waste of time! There wasn't even anything down here!" Naruto complained loudly.  
"We should go, then." Sasuke sounded a little put out. "Come on, Baka."  
"Baka!" Naruto yelled in protest. "I'm not the one that wanted to come down here!"  
"Yes you were! You said that since we got as far as the zombies, we might as well see what was down here!"  
"But you were the one that was going to come down here first!"  
"You pushed me!"  
"Well if you had just stayed in Konoha..."  
"Enough."  
Both boys turned around. "Who are you?" they asked in unison, then glared at each other.  
"I am the guardian, and I can not allow you to leave. You have learned too much about what guards the scroll."  
"So there is a scroll," Sasuke said with some interest. He gave Naruto a "I told you so" look.  
"It does not matter, neither of you will see it. Your journey ends here." The guardian drew a slender katana and took a fighting stance.  
"I knew there had to be something else down here! I'm going to defeat you, believe it!"  
"It takes some kind of stupid to try and defeat the two of us," Sasuke said as he drew a handful of kunai.  
"We shall see," it replied. Without even moving, it deflected the kunai and in a deft movement it blocked Naruto. Seamlessly, it defeated Naruto's shadow clones as well as scoring a cut on Naruto's shoulder.  
"Phoenix flower jutsu!"  
The flame engulfed their enemy, but when they cleared he remained perfectly intact.  
"Is that all?" it asked. Faster than even Sasuke could keep up with, it moved behind them and they barely managed to escape the blade.  
"Not even close!" Naruto declared as he blocked the katana with two kunai. They held for maybe a moment before they shattered. Sasuke attempted to stab the being with a kunai as he had a clear shot, but it went through as if there was nothing there.  
"You can not kill that which is not alive," the apparition said as he swung his blade at Sasuke.  
"Then how are you even here?" Naruto started signing for more shadow clones, but it ran them through before they got the chance to do anything.  
"I've been sealed here, my will bent to my masters," it replied. Shuriken aimed for Sasuke, but before they could hit he had moved and was now looking for the seal.  
"Naruto, there!"  
"Right! Rasengan!"  
The specter turned to Sasuke. "You."  
He slashed the katana downward, cutting Sasuke's cheek. Sasuke managed to block it before it went any further and deflected it before jabbing towards where the stomach would be.  
To his surprise, it turned to dust.  
"I think we got it," Naruto said as his Rasengan dispersed. The tag was now in ruins, barely clinging to the exposed rock. Naruto picked it out and tore the thing up. "So, where's the scroll?"  
Sasuke scanned the room for the scroll again, but still nothing appeared. Then again, he hadn't seen the tag before either. All the same, it wasn't worth it to have Naruto tear up the interior when it was likely it wasn't even here anyway. Sasuke cursed whoever built this place once again.  
"I don't think it's in here. We'll search again on our way out, but if we don't find it then, I'm going to have to think someone took it before we got here."  
Naruto nodded with a smile. "Then let's go."  
As soon as he crossed the barrier to leave again, torches that they hadn't noticed the first time flared to life, illuminating the hall. It also shed light on Sakura and Raito, who were waiting in the hall.  
"It's about time you guys got out here, you've taken longer than Kakashi," Sakura said.  
"Sakura-chan? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked.  
"We were waiting for you two, idiots," Raito replied for the pink haired girl. "What took you guys so long, anyway?"  
"There was some kind of ghost sealed in... wait, Raito, I thought you weren't coming with me and Sakura to get Sasuke back?"  
"This place is dangerous, when I heard he was coming here... I got worried," she said, her cheeks turning pink.  
"Hmph, I can handle myself." Sasuke said it haughtily, but internally he felt a thrill that she cared that much.  
"You took on a ghost, Naruto? Are you ok?" Sakura asked with concern visible in her voice. She took Naruto's face in her hands and looked him over, making sure he wasn't hurt.  
Naruto blushed. "I'm fine, Sakura, really."  
"No... I think you've got a cut on your lip. Here, let me kiss it better."  
Sakura reached forward and kissed him, sliding a kunai out of her pocket at the same time. "Naruto, that's not..."  
Before he could warn his friend, Raito was kissing him. Sasuke pushed her off somewhat reluctantly, and she pouted. "Don't you like me?" she asked.  
"You're not really Raito, just like that's not Sakura."  
Sasuke grabbed the kunai from Sakura's hand. Instantly she stopped kissing Naruto to glare at him. "I wouldn't have done that if I were you."  
"S-Sakura-chan?"  
"No, that's an impostor. I don't know how my Sharingan didn't see through it... but we have to get rid of them of them."  
"You don't want to get rid of me, he's just jealous because I've realized that I want to be with you," Sakura purred. She placed herself in Naruto's line of sight so he couldn't see Sasuke.  
"Now I know you aren't Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "The real Sakura-chan would never say something like that."  
Sakura let go of him and took a step back, joining Raito. The two girls looked at each other and nodded. "Have it your way..."  
"...but we're not going to let either of you out alive."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**  
"Do you think there are any more traps?" Naruto asked.  
"No," the Sakura impersonator answered.  
"No offense, but I don't really believe you," Naruto told her. "You are impersonating Sakura, after all."  
"Speaking of which, how did you pull that off?" Sasuke asked.  
"Our master, he can read pieces of memories from a single drop of blood," the one that looked like Raito answered. The two of them were tied up to prevent any further trouble. "And once he realized that you had the Sharingan..."  
"... He moulded some clay with his jutsu to imitate the people you two were least likely to attack, and then he animated us to act like them," Sakura finished.  
"So you do have a thing for Raito-chan," Naruto deduced.  
"Hmph, I do not. I simply respect her, that's all," Sasuke argued.  
"You should leave, before he sends someone else," Raito warned, breaking into their conversation. "He won't be pleased with our defeat."  
Naruto nodded. "Come on, Sasuke-teme. You're being slow!"  
To prove his point, he grinned and then sprinted off. Sasuke chased after him. "You're going to set off another trap."  
"Nah, I don't think she would lie now, and besides, the sooner we get out of here, the less likely it is that we'll have to face another one of those clone things."  
True to what she had said, there was nothing new that attacked them on their way out. It was about the middle of the night when they got out, though, and the moonlight cast strange shadows over the broken head stones. Orochimaru was nowhere in sight, but Sakura was lying by the mouth of the cave.  
"Sakura-chan!"  
Sasuke rolled his eyes and checked for a pulse. It was there, and beating steadily. "She'll be fine, relax."  
"S-Sasuke-kun?" she asked blearily, opening her green eyes.  
Sasuke stood up. "Told you."  
"Sakura-chan, I got Sasuke back so we can go home now."  
"Hardly, just because we went through that sarcophagus does not mean that I'm going back to Konoha, I told you already. Can't you listen, baka?" Sasuke put his hand on Naruto's hair fondly, then left. Naruto was going to chase after him, but Sakura's coughing made him pause.  
"That was... weird," Naruto said.  
XXXXXXXXXX  
"Another escort mission? But Grandma Tsunade..."  
"No buts, you three are going. Now shoo, I have other things to deal with."  
Kakashi smiled. "It won't be that bad, it's not like she gave us a D-ranked mission."  
"Yeah, remember that time we babysat?" Sakura asked, trying to lighten his mood. It just seemed wrong for Naruto to be down, as opposed to happy or angry. It wasn't his fault that Sasuke got away, not really. If she had managed to beat Orochimaru, she reminded herself, he would be here. Her expression fell.  
Naruto picked up on it instantly, and fake laughed. "Oh yeah, I almost gave the five year old an energy drink." His attempt to make things light hearted failed, Sakura sniffled. "Hey hey! Don't cry, Sakura-chan!"  
"I'm not crying," she replied angrily, but not before Naruto saw a tear run down her cheek.  
"We're going to get him back, you know. Sasuke just doesn't know what he's missing out on." Naruto tried to sound encouraging at the end.  
"Yeah, we'll just have to drag him back," Sakura said morosely.  
"May I remind you that we do have a mission." Kakashi would have stayed out of it, but they were approaching where they would meet their client.

"Hello, my name is Aizen, you three are the team that will be escorting me to Tea Country?"  
"Believe it! Team Kakashi is the best, so you got really lucky!" Naruto sounded chipper at the drop of a hat, and as soon as Sakura realized his acting abilities she couldn't help but be a little jealous. Aizen laughed at his boisterous nature.  
"Then we should probably get going. I'm meeting with another company, and I can't be late."  
The journey was actually quiet. Not a single bandit or other ninja attacked them as they made their way down the road, but it didn't get boring because Naruto kept up a steady stream of banter with whoever would listen and participate. Mostly this was because he didn't want to see Sakura get so sad again. Aizen seemed to enjoy it as well, though, and even participated a few times. The white haired man who still seemed to look young had a sense of humor that Kakashi could appreciate, and as a result half of their jokes went right over Naruto's head and occasionally Sakura's.  
"Well, this is it," Aizen said when they reached the village. It looked a lot like Konoha, except maybe more imposing.  
"Take care, Aizen-san!" Naruto called, for once using the correct honorific.  
"You too."  
"Aizen-san, it's good to see you got here safely."  
"Raito-chan?" Naruto asked, and turned around. She was standing next to Aizen, Haku with them, and something about them looked different.  
"Naruto, it's good to see you again," Haku greeted amiably. Naruto realized what looked different about them, they both seemed infinitely tired. Haku's brown eyes that were usually soft and lively were dull, and everything about Raito seemed to say that she hadn't slept in far too long.  
"Is something wrong?" Naruto asked, and the two of them shook their heads in perfect synchronization.  
"Nope, we're just here to be bodyguards for a little while," Raito offered, and smiled weakly. Haku shot her a look, and she shrugged.  
"Hm... hm..."  
"Naruto, we should let them go, they do have things they have to do," Kakashi suggested.  
"One thing before you go. If you see Sasuke, beat some sense into him, ok?" Raito asked. Haku looked smug, and she grimaced at him. This only served to amuse Haku further.  
"I will, believe it! Well, goodbye! Come and visit some time, ok?"  
Haku nodded. "Sure."  
The weeks passed for Sakura slowly. Naruto did what he could to make her feel better, but nothing seemed to truly help.  
Then Ino kidnapped her. Never mind that it was one of Naruto's ideas, she was tired of seeing her friend turned rival turned friend again looking so depressed all the time. It took all of the fun out of teasing her. So, she set her up on a blind date.  
Now the problem was just keeping it a secret that she had done it. Heaven forbid it become known that Ino had done something nice. It wasn't actually that hard, she just told Naruto to tell Sakura to meet him at Ichiraku's, just as friends. One of the ways Ino could tell that there was something seriously wrong with Sakura was because she had agreed.  
"Are you sure about this?" the test subject, I mean, date asked. Ino fixed his clothes for the umpteenth time.  
"Don't worry about it, just remember that if you do something to hurt her feelings, I'll kill you," Ino said in a chipper tone. She shoved him out the door, and once again wondered at how manipulable guys were. It certainly helped that he had a crush on Sakura, but all the same. It shouldn't have been so easy.  
Yosuke ran a hand through his hair, messing it up again. He wasn't even sure why he had agreed to this. Sakura, to be honest, scared him. Yeah, she was pretty, but she was shallow, and obsessed with Sasuke. Still, Naruto had looked and sounded so worried about her...  
He sighed at the stars. There was no way this could end well. All the same, approached the restaurant.  
"Sakura?"  
"Do I know you?" she asked, and Yosuke looked sheepish.  
"Yosuke, remember? I'm on Clare's team."  
"Oh yeah, what are you doing in Konoha?"  
Instantly, Yosuke picked up on her disinterest. She was just making conversation with him because he was there and it would be rude not to. Still he answered. "We're on a mission, an alliance type one. We're just going to be here for a few days. Can I get a ramen, please?"  
The owner smiled, like somehow he knew he had been sent there by Naruto. "Which would you like?"  
"Uh..." Yosuke scratched the back of his head, having no idea what kind he should get.  
"Miso," Sakura suggested, though it was more of an order. The owner nodded and started making it. "Naruto recommended this place to you, didn't he?"  
"Yeah, he's crazy about this place."  
The owner smiled, realizing what Naruto was up to. "Here you go."  
"Thanks."  
"Yeah, he comes here all the time, and he was supposed to meet me here..." Sakura took a bite of noodles. "Are Ren and Clare coming to?"  
"No... Clare's been really upset about not getting to see Gaara every day, and there's no way I would go with Ren anywhere by ourselves if I can help it."  
"If he's anything like Shihizuki, I don't blame you. He was scary."  
"Ren's not scary, he's just..."  
"I get it." Sakura saved Yosuke the trouble of finding the right words. She laughed a little. "You don't have to worry about offending me, I hang out with Naruto, remember?"  
"You know, you should cut the kid some slack. He does try his best, at everything, no matter what. I have to say, I'm a little jealous. He isn't afraid of defending his idea of what's right and not holding back."  
"I guess..." Sakura mused. "It's just hard to picture someone envying _Naruto_ of all people." She made a little amused sound.  
Yosuke didn't look amused at all. "A lot of people envy Naruto, or at least they should. I think sometimes even Gaara-sama wishes he could be more like him." He quickly looked abashed. "Sorry, that was probably out of line, it's just... I've heard about some of the things he's done, and it's really amazing, when you think about it."  
"Like what?"  
"I don't know... like when you guys went to retrieve Shihizuki. Clare said that Sasuke left, and she was mostly going for Gaara who she knows really well, and you were going because your team was going, but Naruto was going because he wanted to save friends of friends, and he was going to do it, no matter what." Yosuke shrugged. "I don't know, that just seems really... special, and not in a bad way."  
"I guess..." Sakura said pensively, staring at her ramen instead of Yosuke. "He's just always been the one we picked on, so it's hard to see him as anything... special."  
"But that's just part of how awesome he is. I mean, don't tell him I said this because the kid hardly needs to develop an ego, but all his life he's been picked on, and he's only stronger for that. You don't see that every day."  
"You know... I think you might be right. Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on him, but don't expect me to start worshipping the ground he walks on," Sakura said the last part as a joke, and Yosuke laughed.  
"Yeah, that's the last thing we need, people to start worshipping Naruto." Yosuke shivered. He liked the kid well enough, but a religion devoted to him... at least Ren would be jealous.  
"Thanks, Yosuke, I never realized why everyone who didn't know him before liked him so much... but I think I can see it a little now. Good night."  
"Good night, Sakura-chan."  
"So, Yosuke, how'd it go?" Naruto asked as soon as he caught the other boy walking down the street.  
"Um... I don't think she likes me like that."  
"That's ok! We'll just have to make her see, is all!"  
"Naruto, I know you like her, you don't have to do this. It's not like I can be around all the time like you can anyway. Thanks for trying, but I don't think we would work out. It was really nice of you to try, though."  
"Sakura-chan just seems so sad since Sasuke-teme left, so I thought that maybe if she found someone else..." Naruto sighed. "This stuff is hard, even with Ino-chan's help."  
"She'll get over him eventually," Yosuke assured him. He yawned. "Well, I think I should be getting home, it's late and I have a mission tomorrow."  
"See you later, then!"  
XXXXXXXXXXX  
"Naruto, you stood me up last night!"  
"Sorry Sakura-chan, I kind of forgot..." he muttered sheepishly, as if he was afraid of her rage.  
Sakura, instead of punching him, seemed to calm down. "It's ok, I guess. Just don't make a habit of it. Where's... why am I even asking?" She was going to ask where Kakashi-sensei was, but thought better of it when she realized who she was talking about.  
"It's Kakashi-sensei, he's probably reading that book." Naruto put his hands behind his head. "So, you miss me last night?"  
"Yeah right. Yosuke is much better company."  
"Yosuke..." Naruto made his face look like he was trying to remember who that was.  
"The other guy on Clare's team? The one that doesn't look like Shihizuki?"  
"Oh yeah... wait, they're here?"  
Sakura rolled her green eyes. "Yes, baka. They're here. Yosuke said they had some sort of mission."  
"Sorry I'm late, I was..."  
"Don't bother, we already know you were reading that book." Sakura's hair blew in the light wind.  
Kakashi smiled. "Well then we can skip straight to training, can't we?"  
As the days passed, Sakura found that she didn't need Sasuke as much as she originally thought after all. There was heartache, but she found that she could get past that and that part of her was just _wishing_ that she was horribly depressed over the fact that he was gone. She wasn't though, not truly. Sasuke never held the team together, and he had never recognized her as anything other than just kind of useful, as far as she knew anyway.  
All the same, she missed him. She wanted his dry sense of humor back, and his haughty ways, she wanted him back where she could look out for him, even though she hadn't truly done anything to warrant that being necessary. She found herself almost taking his place, though. As Naruto's competition, as the secondary strength of the team, as the peer keeping Naruto in check, all while still doing her job as a medic. Still, the team suffered. They had more close calls than they had with a full team, even if they were still holding together.  
In Hidden Mist, it was another story. Gato had called them back, and was carefully controlling which missions they went on as a display of his power over them. In a week, though, their contract with him would be over and he would have to leave. Mizuki had at least been decent, as far as the people that held the position as the CEO of the company they worked for went. Gato was insatiable, and ruthless to anyone, _anyone_, that got in his way. Their orders as Firefly were worse, and the bruise on Raito's cheek was still healing from when he had slapped her because she had refused to harass someone about payment. She had taken it simply because she had a contract, and to violate it would be all but suicide.  
When the week was over and Gato was gone, Raito left Mist Village by herself. She was planning on bringing Sasuke back, and both had already decided that because of the potential amount of time it could take to bring him back, it would be better to split up. She stopped and bent down when she saw a newspaper blow by with familiar faces on the front. Not even Haku knew it, but she had family still alive, even if they could hardly be considered family considering that her father had disowned her for her lack of jutsu ability.  
After flipping through it, she clenched the paper in her hand and turned around. Evidently, there was something she had to check on before leaving. She walked through the streets the a place that she hadn't been to in what seemed forever, her family's home. The mansion was just as intimidating as she remembered it. Built in a traditional style that didn't seem to belong in the city filled with sky scrapers, the gargoyle water spouts leered at her from their perch and the high gate in the front was just as barring as she remembered it to be. She simply stood in front of it and looked for a few minutes before going around the secret entrance that she had discovered when she had still been living there.  
Knowing that spying on her family would be hard, Raito decided that, for once, she would play it safe. As soon as she found the information she wanted, she was out of the house and back on the street and on her way to the morgue. It seemed that whoever had written the article was right, her little sister was dead. Now she just had to find whoever did it and kill them, Sasuke could wait.  
Getting into the morgue was easy, she knew people that worked there quite well. After convincing them to leave her alone for a few moments, she pulled open the tray that contained her little sister. She knew without checking that it was really her younger sister, and that she was really dead. Face pulled into a grim expression, she checked for any signs of what could have killed her, and then read through the autopsy report they had written.  
It seemed that she had died relatively painlessly, most likely in her sleep, but it wasn't a natural death. It went further on to say that there were signs that the Sharingan had been used on her right before she died, which made Raito's eyes narrow further. She finished skimming the report and slid the body back into place. Everything back where it belonged, she left. It didn't seem likely that Itachi or Sasuke would kill her little sister, but if that was the case, unless they had a _damn_ good reason, they were dead.  
Starting with Itachi. She really didn't think he would do something like that, but there was no way in hell Sasuke would. Raito firmly believed that Sasuke would never hurt her little sister in the same way his family had been hurt, though she was also of the opinion that Itachi would never do something like that ever again, but it had to be one of them. There was no other possible option.


End file.
